The digital transformation is moving and evolving fast. That is not surprising considering the amounts of effort and resources both research and industry are putting on these rapidly evolving branches around data. Our data enriched with domain-knowledge and thus turned into chunks of facts can lead to business success, but it can also easily overwhelm the people intended to use the records made accessible via tools of visualization, spreadsheets, databases or similar. The gap in available and needed data scientists worldwide provides an indication of this ongoing struggle.
Clearly, the target cannot be to turn everyone into a data scientist, just like you do not need everyone to become a 3-star chef just to have a decent meal. Importance, time and focus needs to be spent on the audience, nonetheless.
From personal experience with various cultures and locations, the road taken to achieve enabling the data consumers differs greatly from one to the other place and hence needs to be specific for the audience. As a first investigative step, it is highly recommended to not only pursue questions around data and domain insights, but also about the possible banner carriers and stakeholders. It may be advised to not go for the biggest challenge first but trying to solve easier to achieve examples initially to overcome the hurdle of hesitation and anxiety when dealing with data and IT infrastructure by early success. A dedicated timespan with defined and fixed resources often is seen as a drain on the already limited resources of any lean business and return on invest is typically not accessible as a planning basis from the start. It must be understood that the later benefits on even just a fraction of the early participants to continue the journey cannot be overrated. The effects of multiplying the active demand for data and asking questions like those of the data scientist about accessibility, accuracy, and completeness will ultimately percolate through the entire organization when demand is being established.
In summary, providing the infrastructure to enable data-driven business is a clear task for the management. The infrastructure will not be readily taken on by the consumers and used, change management on the level of individuals’ needs must be added to the recipe to achieve a data-driven culture which drives a self-supporting healthy status. In the planning phase, the initial investment may not be countered by equal returns immediately. It is imperative to perform the invest in terms of time and resources regardless, the returns will become available at numerous times when the data landscape has become a natural piece of the business puzzle alongside more traditional elements.
Over the course of time, a strategic move in nominating specific roles related to data ownership, maintenance and planning within the team can help to maintain the support and visibility as a crucial element and is highly encouraged.