When it’s time to make a big decision, it’s always great to get a second opinion!

This is especially true when a major business decision comes your way. When it comes to something as foundational for your business as your enterprise data, it’s best to consult the experts. Growing your business starts with an effective data strategy. But what if you could bring your burning data questions to a seasoned professional without the financial burden? There’s nothing better than hearing advice and insights from a leader in the field.

Host Malcolm Hawker does just that kicking off his inaugural monthly session of CDO Matters LIVE. In this special live episode, he answers top-of-mind inquiries about all things master data management (MDM), data governance, data fabrics, business value and more.

Joined by Profisee’s Director of Digital Marketing, Ben Bourgeois, Malcolm opens the episode by posing the question, “Why do we separate analytical [reporting] uses of data from operational [data management] uses of data?” Data and analytics are often used in the same sentence but treated as two separate items.

He immediately points out the relation between the two with analytics often leading to operationalized insights and decision-making which ultimately leads to action within a business. While separating them provides freedom on the analytical side, it often leads to analysts then defining their own business rules, data definitions and how they want the data to be shown in future reports. This further isolates the two areas from being used cross-functionally across multiple departments for individual purposes.

Ben then poses the question of whether this separation stems from data ownership within an organization. Malcolm clarifies the ideal definition of data ownership by explaining how it refers to data laws, rules and standards within a business that are applied cross-functionally. The other aspect of ownership then relates to enforcing those established policies. Ultimately, he concludes that assigning individual owners only hurts rather than helps a data-driven enterprise.

From there, Ben provides Malcolm with some of the more notable and relevant topics and inquiries hitting the data space as of late. The topics discussed throughout the remainder of the episode include:

• Transitioning from top-down or enterprise-wide initiatives to more federated approaches focused on business units
• The value of treating data as a product
• Effective marketing and the difference it makes for a master data management (MDM) or IT initiative
• Using Salesforce and other CRMs as a substitute for MDM within an organization

…and various questions submitted during the live Q&A!

If you want to ask your burning data questions live with Ben and Malcolm, be sure to register for the next of our live monthly sessions of CDO Matters LIVE.

EPISODE LINKS & RESOURCES:

Follow Malcolm Hawker on LinkedIn

Follow Ben Bourgeois on LinkedIn

Register for an upcoming session of CDO Matters LIVE