Drive Your Business

The Data EcosystemBecoming a more innovative and efficient data enterprise

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IntroductionThe rise of ubiquitous data collection and analysis has fundamentally shifted the way companies

do business. As data-oriented processes, products, and systems come to dominate, every

company needs to reassess its technology strategy and implement new processes to facilitate

data-driven decision making and automation. In today’s workplace, companies must strive to

integrate their own practices and business model into an increasingly data-driven ecosystem.

This requires significant leadership from the CIO and IT department, who must work closely

with business leaders to develop data strategies that meet the needs of the business.

Creating intelligence and interconnectedness

For years, companies have been struggling to transform

into organizations that are informed and driven by data

insights. Some industries have been more successful

than others, resulting in business disruption and creating

entirely new customer revenue and operating models.

These companies have achieved stunning success and

proven to the business world that data has immense

potential. In order to remain successful in the coming years,

companies need to adopt these strategies. At the heart

of every modern business should be a ubiquitous data

ecosystem. This will provide the opportunity to strengthen

organizational intelligence and interconnectedness across

the enterprise, customers and external stakeholders.

There are many business drivers influencing the need for a more dynamic, enterprise-wide

data ecosystem, including globalization, speed to market, and competitive product or service

differentiation. Data insights have always been paramount to decision-making at all levels of the

organization. Now more than ever, they are informing and changing business interactions from

problem solving to creating new conversations around innovation and the “art of the possible”.

Data ecosystems are not perfect. There are many dimensions and challenges that can make

a successful transformation difficult. But with new technology and practices, businesses

have the opportunity to gain insights that can connect the data and draw inferences,

patterns, and predictive elements that will inform and influence their future. This paper will

explore the ways in which companies can use data ecosystems to drive business goals.

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Leveraging next-generation technologiesIn order to take advantage of the power of data, companies must leverage next generation

technologies that make it easier and more cost effective to gather, analyze, and act on information.

Data ecosystem capabilities for the 21st-century knowledge worker continue to rapidly evolve,

fueled by frequent advances in technology. Our technology savvy workforce is creating a

revolution that demands richer data-harvesting capabilities. Big data, sensory IoT, cloud, mobile,

and sophisticated analytics technologies are creating an interconnectedness in driving new

value and transforming business. Companies must learn how best to use these technologies

to drive business goals by improving efficiency, reducing costs, and capturing new markets.

Advanced analytics

Statistical analysis and science-based analytical methods have a large role to play in the

future of business. As companies begin to realize that these tools can be used to make

accurate forecasts, better understand customers, and develop more effective practices,

they are becoming a critical component of the data ecosystem. But it’s not enough to simply

make analytics a component of the overarching business strategy. It should be a leading

component. It is increasingly possible to use data to identify better customers, optimize the

workforce, and increase profitability. The days of acting on a gut feeling are over. Data-based

and science-based analytics must be at the core of every successful business strategy.

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Data has the power not only to help humans make better decisions, but also to make

machines smarter. Progressive organizations are unlocking new value through machine

learning and artificial intelligence, seeded by structured and unstructured data. These

technologies can form the foundations for tools that allow companies to significantly increase

their efficiency. Already, many tasks previously performed only by human workers can be

done by machines. IT help tickets, for example, are rapidly becoming a thing of the past as

new tools automatically resolve issues, while automated assistants become a reality.

Machine learning also has significant potential in product development. Google and IBM

are already using data-driven machine learning to develop disruptive technology (self-

driving cars and the Watson Analytics platform, respectively). These examples show

how wide a range of industries could be disrupted by artificial intelligence and machine

learning. Companies that aren’t evaluating these technologies and taking steps to

make them part of their own digital DNA will likely be disrupted by those that do.

Machine learning and artificial intelligence

Progressive organizations use machine learning and artificial intelligence to dramatically improve their efficiency.

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Data visualization

Data’s value is seriously limited if it’s not

in a format that makes intuitive sense to

human employees. Powerful visualization-

communication platforms have emerged as the new common language for explaining

the story the data is revealing. Interactive charts, maps, and other visual aids can take

big data and make it manageable. These tools allow humans to more easily interpret and

act on complex sets of data, allowing it to be better used to drive business goals.

The Internet of Things (IoT) often gets more attention in the media for flashy consumer novelties

than business-oriented technologies. But those who overlook its power to revolutionize the way

companies do business are ignoring substantial opportunities. Sensors allow business to collect

data in a wide variety of areas, including production

lines, retail displays, and vehicles, while actuators

allow businesses to act on that data in real time. The

potential of this technology is practically limitless, as

companies can use it to develop new products, make

better decisions, and improve processes. Connecting

physical items to the network allows data to have

more direct real-world implications. This makes IoT

a key connective element of the data ecosystem.

The Internet of Things

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CIO and IT leadership prioritiesGiven the immense importance of the data ecosystem, many CIOs may wonder what their role will

be in ensuring that the company is positioned for data success. IT leaders need to assess their

people, processes, and technology and provide the leadership that underpin these contemporary data

ecosystems. This means having a clear understanding of both business goals and the technology that

can help drive them. The CIO’s role is one of IT leadership and business advisement to ensure that the

company uses the data ecosystem effectively. It is critical that the CIO ensures that the data ecosystem

evolves as the business evolves. As an “ecosystem”, it is never static, but rather always changing.

One of the most important roles for the CIO is serving as a connection between business leaders

and the technology world. A company cannot effectively use the data ecosystem unless it has

strong buy-in from business leaders. This means that the CIO must strive to show the real value

of data and data-driven processes and tools. Building a coalition of partners in business and IT

units is critical to ensuring that every facet of the company is using data to drive insights and

innovation. The CIO must work with business leaders to motivate collaboration at all levels.

Connect with business leaders

IT’s role is one of business support. It works to ensure that the business is using data in a way that

allows employees to work more effectively and innovate. This means that the CIO must constantly

build relationships both within and outside of IT. The data ecosystem should be a part of every

business unit and every decision made within the company. The CIO needs to listen to the needs

of the business and collaborate with other units to implement solutions that work for everyone.

• Build relationships

Developing the infrastructure necessary for companies to fully embrace the data ecosystem

means significant time and resource investments. Many business leaders will be hesitant to make

significant outlays without a strong business case. It’s the responsibility of the CIO to make this

case and work with business leaders to develop solutions that meet the needs of the company.

• Make the business case for data

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The CIO must ensure that time, resource, and cultural investments are made into making a

company data-driven. The forward-thinking CIO needs to invest in IT skills and technology

partners that will foster a culture that is motivated to understand the business data at deeper

levels and that will be able to collaborate with business at a data-context level. IT must play a

major leadership role in enabling the necessary frameworks, architectures, and governance of

the data ecosystem. The CIO needs to harness core competencies in managing data-ecosystem

services that consume both structured and unstructured data, providing analytics “sandboxes”

that allow for exploration, hypothesis modeling, and prototyping. These new structures require

agile technologies and methodologies that don’t demand “perfect” quality scrubbed data.

Implement self-service

Shadow IT is becoming increasingly

common as workers go outside of the

CIO’s purview to implement solutions

that meet their needs. This can cause

problems for the IT department, as

they must often fix technical issues

and security breaches introduced

by these solutions. However, the

CIO cannot afford to simply pretend

these outside needs do not exist.

The knowledge worker is demanding

self-service tools that facilitate

using data environments very quickly without long lead times and eliminating the dependence

on IT organizations. IT should focus on building self-service frameworks that liberate the

knowledge worker, providing more independence for experimenting, data exploration, and

modeling, but in a way that works with the company’s overarching technology goals.

Invest in the data ecosystem

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Ensure data readiness

Today’s data-driven organizations need secure, clean, and in-context data. These are high

hurdles for most IT organizations, due to a lack of data centralization and the challenges

around data integration when connecting disparate structured and unstructured data sources.

Implementing master-data management and other similar solutions can help organize, centralize,

and clean data, ensuring greater accuracy and consistency across the business. The CIO

must spearhead these initiatives, working with business leaders to collect and collate data,

reducing duplicate records, and improving the overall cohesiveness of the company’s data.

Increase compatibility and connectivity

Collaboration across the enterprise is a critical element

of the data-driven workplace. Technology tools and

flexible infrastructure, such as cloud and mobile, have

emerged and are becoming more commonplace.

This allows for the connection of these complex data

ecosystems to enable more natural data exploration

in serving the dynamic, interdependent needs of

organizations. However, it is the responsibility of the

CIO to ensure that these tools are adopted and that

data is cross-compatible between platforms. Ensuring

that data is clean and consistently formatted requires

significant oversight and governance. The IT department

must help guide the business to ensure an effective,

overarching strategy for data across the enterprise.

Ensuring clean and consistently formatted data requires significant oversight and governance.

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Business-first approachIT’s role is to support the business in its endeavors. To that end, it is critical that any data-ecosystem

strategy makes business goals the top priority. Data ecosystems are formed from well thought-out

business cases that are prioritized based on potential value and business impact. It is important not to

be driven by the technologies, but rather approach opportunities from a business perspective and allow

data ecosystem needs to emerge from a deeper understanding of business-use cases. The CIO must

take the lead and work with business leaders to ensure that strategies meet the goals of the business.

Developing a business-first data-ecosystem approach requires the development of a cohesive,

enterprise-wide strategy designed to meet business goals. IT leaders must work with and

advise business leaders to create a solution that works effectively for the business.

Develop a data strategy

It is important to approach data-ecosystem business opportunities as a collaboration between

the business stakeholders and IT. Use integrated teams that are agile and driven by common

goals. Focus on the business-use cases first, not the technology. Use these end-goals to

drive technology decisions, not the other way around. This ensures that the initiative will

work to for the business, instead of simply being ineffectual drains on valuable resources.

• Work collaboratively

The data initiative should first and foremost meet the needs of end-business users. Before

making steps towards implementing an initiative, workshop the details of the business-

use cases defining unstated, unmet, and unseen needs in the context of driving the value

propositions. Sort out fact from fiction, uncovering insights through interviews, ethnography,

and other exploratory approaches. Take a methodical, fact-based approach to identify

what will help the business, what is cost-effective, and what is technologically feasible.

• Identify needs

Create a plan that seeks to start with a “series of small victories.”

Start small, iterate, and reiterate to drive early business value.

• Start small

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Before implementation it is important to look at the internal, external, structured, and

unstructured data and technologies to understand the inventory of what the organization

already has and where the gaps are to support driving the business opportunities. Take

steps to determine what data already exists, how clean this data is, and what data can be

gathered and analyzed with existing systems and processes. Coupled with business-driven

end goals, this will inform what the initiative needs to accomplish in order to be successful.

• Assess the data landscape

All initiatives in the business should be held accountable to predefined quantifiable

metrics. It is important to set these metrics before implementation has begun so

there is always a standard by which to judge progress and success. Identify the

hypotheses around the value propositions, so outcomes can be clearly measured,

enabling opportunities to be accelerated or killed based on objective criteria.

• Set metrics

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Implement

Implementation of data ecosystem initiatives may be rolled out over a significant period

of time, depending on the strategies outlined in the planning phase. It is important to stay

committed to the plan by building and maintaining relationships with key business leaders,

setting well-defined goals, and regularly reviewing progress. This helps ensure that the

strategies outlined in the planning phase result in the desired business outcomes.

It is likely that shifting a traditionally oriented business to a data-driven business will take

a significant amount of time. For this reason, it is important to set smaller goals to roll out

critical elements more quickly. Execute plans including people, process, and technology

that deliver results in short time intervals (less than three months) that are measurable

against the stated metrics. The company also should incorporate the learnings from

the results into future plan iterations and continually evolve the data ecosystem. This

progressive rollout ensures that the business can begin benefiting from the data ecosystem

almost immediately and that it continues to become more effective with each interval.

• Set progress intervals

Once the initiatives begin progressing, it is important to continue listening to the business,

paying close attention to how the efforts are being received. Keeping business support is

critical to long-term success, so it is important to maintain relationships with key stakeholders

and continue making the business case for the data ecosystem. It is also important to rapidly

correct any problems that may arise and constantly strive to improve based on past results.

• Keep listening to the business

Data initiatives are only valuable if they drive real, quantifiable business goals. The

metrics set forth in the planning stage are the guide by which to judge the progress

and success of projects. Use these to make adjustments to ineffective strategies

and to prove to business leaders that the initiatives are having real results.

• Hold initiatives accountable

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ConclusionsUnderstanding the data ecosystem and incorporating data-driven people, processes, and

technologies into the enterprise is critical to the success of every modern business. As a greater

number of companies begin to use data to innovate and make better decisions, those that

don’t will increasingly be left behind. In order to stay competitive, it is important that companies

take steps to integrate the data ecosystem into every business unit. This means taking a

business-first approach to new data-oriented initiatives and involving key business leaders

in the effort. Data makes companies more efficient and more effective. The CIO must take a

leadership position and be the foundation for these initiatives. That requires working closely with

business units, listening to their needs, and developing strategies that drive business goals.

Key points:

• Data-driven processes and technologies

are critical to future business success.

• The data ecosystem is comprised of

people, processes, and technology.

Having a strong foundation in each is key

to achieving a data-driven enterprise.

• The data ecosystem is always

evolving as the business evolves. It

is always changing, never static.

• Several advancements in technology,

such as IoT, machine learning, and

analytics, are driving the data ecosystem

and enabling companies to become

more intelligent and interconnected.

• It is important for the CIO and IT to take a

leading position in data initiatives, make

the business case to IT leaders, and help

to develop effective technology strategies.

• Companies should take a business-first

approach to the data ecosystem. That

means listening to business needs and

using them to develop a data strategy.

• Initiatives should be measured against

quantifiable metrics. Projects that aren’t

meeting benchmarks must be adjusted.

• The CIO must continue to work

closely with business units to develop

strategies that drive business goals.

Drive Your Business

Founded in 1995, WGroup is a technology management consulting firm that provides Strategy,

Management and Execution Services to optimize business performance, minimize cost and create

value. Our consultants have years of experience both as industry executives and trusted advisors

to help clients think through complicated and pressing challenges to drive their business forward.

Visit us at www.thinkwgroup.com or give us a call at (610) 854-2700 to learn how we can help you.

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