Narrow focus and other major problems
VentureBeat recently published an article falling squarely into the problem-highlighting camp. The piece stated that data siloing is a major issue among many organizations that have implemented business intelligence and analytics initiatives without the proper preparation, software or personnel experience to do so. This may stem from over-emphasis of what some refer to as the 3 V’s of big data – volume, veracity and variety. Companies can get carried away with the possibilities of these tools while simultaneously failing to develop the right strategies for their best possible application.
A survey conducted by the research firm CompTIA made it clear that data siloing and other issues symptomatic of a poor approach to information management are quite prevalent in numerous businesses. Among the survey’s 1,000 respondents, 52 percent reported a moderate amount of problematic data silos, while 29 percent stated that a great deal of their data was siloed. Additionally, about 75 percent of them believed that they had developed “shadow data repositories” – where staff members were keeping their own stores of work-related data unconnected to the business’ information stores, which can cause problems.
Governance can come to the rescue
The fairly common presence of the issues mentioned above is indicative of a clear need for companies to have better oversight of their data. This can be achieved by implementing a comprehensive governance policy, so that information is regulated across all segments of a business for increased organizational advantage.
According to SmartDataCollective, a major part of this will have to involve the cooperation of IT personnel and all other members of a company’s staff. If IT departments and the sections of companies more dedicated to boosting the bottom line can’t work together, the right level of data accountability can’t be achieved, and businesses with data-related problems will be less likely to find the solutions they need.