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A company is like a boat: it is made up of a bunch of teams that all have to row in the same direction so that things run smoothly and don't lose the way. But this is not always the case, as in many cases the teams become individualized and the project fails.
This is the reality of many companies today that are starting to use their data: its use is limited to a few analysts with very specific skills or to the top management of the organization. They are the ones who steer the boat and coordinate with each other, but the rest of the employees are not empowered or trained to use the information so they do not row, do not know how to row or row in a different direction. As a result, the boat is sometimes very slow, sometimes it keeps moving, sometimes it has no fixed direction, and sometimes it is a dangerous place over which there is no control.
If all employees in an organization had access to data and its use, they could extract valuable insights with which to make better decisions on a daily basis and thus improve, all in unison, the performance of their company, in the same direction. Information needs to be accessible to all departments, without any barriers to access or understanding. This is called data democratization and if you want to make it to port safely, you need it in your business.
How to make smart use of information
Democratizing means that all users in an organization, both technical and non-technical, can share, interpret and use data to create value for everyone. But how can you make smart use of information? There are three key points to consider if you want to start democratizing that data effectively in your organization:
1. Transform data into information
Companies have daily access to a huge amount of information, not only about their customers and the purchase transactions they make, but also about how they use social networks, web browsing data, application data, third-party data, etc. The problem is that, in most cases, all this information is disintegrated, it is not available, it is not being put to the right use or the company does not even know what data it has or what it can do with it. The most important thing is to bring together and integrate all this information so that you can analyze it in real time and extract useful information that you can take advantage of.
2. Data governance
Once this data is already useful information, it needs to be well structured and you need to be able to access a fully governed, secure and quality self-service. However, this should not be an impediment to democratization. Self-service should not be at odds with data governance. There are many companies that protect data too much and do not want to give it to users. It is true that information must be protected and well cared for, with the appropriate permissions, but data governance already takes care of this and we must trust more. It is necessary to lose the fear of making data available to all company users so that they can use it in their day-to-day work, transform it into knowledge and make better decisions.
3. Democratize the use of information and transform it into knowledge.
Finally, you have to give each user what they need and that this is not restricted only to the management layer, to a group of technical users or to specific processes. You need to have an analytics solution that accommodates everyone: whether it be an analyst who wants to discover trends, make predictions or use Artificial Intelligence, or whether it be a business user who wants to visualize data or navigate the platform in a simple way.
Data activation: how to leverage data for direct business impact
Democratization goes beyond your users simply being able to access dashboards and look at their data: you need to activate that data, in a way that allows to visually extract relevant information in order to make much smarter decisions which have a direct impact on your business.
Let's take an example: let's think about the claims department of an insurance company. They have access to incredible information such as how much a person spends on their car insurance or which brand gives them the most problems. That data is there, but if no one knows it or knows how to use it, what good is it? If this company started doing more detailed analysis of that data and took into account the knowledge it extracted, it could make better decisions that would make it much more profitable and competitive.
Therefore, democratization is about making data available to everyone, so that they can actually use it and transform it into a direct impact on the business.
The theory is clear, but how do you put it into practice?
Now that you know what democratization is and you have the clear objective of trying to make sure that this data really reaches all layers of your company and brings value to all your employees, you will think, how do you do this, what are the steps to successfully implement data democratization?
First you have to be realistic and recognize that full and rapid adoption of democratization cannot be achieved overnight.
One option to start with would be to adopt sponsors for each of the areas and have them be in charge of energizing the group to help them adapt to the new tool you want to implement. They need to be trained and taught persistently so that they learn to use the data independently and are not reliant on more advanced IT teams.
Ease of use is also critical. You can't suddenly put in place very complex tools that no one will even know how to pick up. You have to be practical and choose something that you can really get the most out of. There are super advanced and complex solutions on the market that do amazing things, but if you're just starting out in the data world, it would not add much value to your organization just yet. It would be smarter to start with simpler, more useful solutions that are really going to help you and make an impact, without complicating things too much.
So, with your data well integrated, using simple tools that allow you to transform it into information and adopting sponsors that help you engage groups, you would already have achieved the first steps towards democratization.
What risks can the current bring you once you have started the journey?
Democratization and self-service are two key words that everyone understands. However, if you talk to someone about data governance, it becomes a bit more abstract. And let's not even talk about Business Intelligence, Machine Learning or predictive analytics.
This is because self-service is something we all do in our daily lives: you can pay for products yourself at the supermarket or make bank transfers from your mobile. We all have this built into our lives and when it comes to democratization, when you try to do self-service tool initiatives, there is a major problem linked to expectations. There is the idea that with these solutions everyone will know how to do things by themselves, and this is not quite the case.
When it comes to democratization, you need to model the concept of self-service very well: what you are going to deliver, when and where you are going to do it. And in the how, you have to make it very clear that it is something evolutionary. It's not something that comes along and everybody is going to know how to use it innately. As we have said, you need to train employees and little by little, teach them how to integrate this into their day-to-day work.
A Data Driven transformation is about changing the mentality of your company gradually, so that everyone is involved and sees data as a service that they can use on a daily basis in their projects and decisions. There is no point in putting your teams in your boat if you are not going to let them row.
Democratization should not be the port; it should be the route to follow.
Although we all find it easier to think that there is a goal, which is to democratize, it has to be more than a goal; it has to be the route to follow.
The concept of democratization and how it is implemented is also changing, as the world, and especially technology, is also. Companies will not stop merging, buying or selling and creating a single democratization ecosystem with fixed rules is practically impossible. It is necessary to keep improving and adapting to the new environments that may arise.
In short, in the technological and information age in which we live, companies must make use of their data if they want to make a difference and be competitive with the rest. But the use of information should not be limited only to the most technical users, to senior management or to specific projects; it must be used by all members of the organization and on an ongoing basis.
To do this, it is first necessary that these data are integrated and well governed so that they can be transformed into knowledge. In this way, democratization of data and self-service tools can be implemented that allow users to know how to use the information intelligently in their daily decisions so that it can have a real impact on business performance. This goes hand in hand with a change of culture in the company, where everyone is open to changing their mindset to embrace data and technology in the company as a service.
But in such a changing world, in which technology is constantly changing, we should not see democratization as an end, but as a means that needs to be improved and adapted to the changes that may arise. Like a boat on a river from which all members row in the same direction and work as a team to overcome any imminent danger.