IT and businesses don’t always see eye to eye when it comes to overall goals within an enterprise. To address this glaring issue, Anne Buff, business solutions manager and thought leader for SAS Best Practices, a thought leadership organization at SAS Institute, discussed aligning data strategy goals at Data Summit 2016.
Data is powerful and can be used in both positive and negative ways, Buff explained. It’s incredibly important to know what data you have and how to use it in order to avoid the pitfalls of possibly being hacked or disrupted.
Organizations cannot expect the best results if there are two different sets of goals in mind by two sides of the business, she explained.
While business leaders want to jump into projects, sometimes throwing caution to the wind, IT personnel consider how to do more with less and cutting costs.
“You have to find a balance between effectiveness and efficacy,” Buff said. “Foster a data driven culture, help people understand what data is, help people understand the story.”
Some of the ways to make sure everyone is united include empowering each person with the skill sets they have, embrace technology for what it is in the moment and where it is headed, and enterprises need to make sure they are transparent in how they use data.
Buff quoted Tacy Byham, Ph.D., who said, catalyst leaders represent the gold standard – energetic, supportive, forward thinking mentors who spark action in others, to drive her point home.
Data Summit is an annual 2-day conference, preceded by a day of workshops, that offers a comprehensive educational experience designed to guide you through all of the key issues in data management and analysis today. The event brings together IT managers, data architects, application developers, data analysts, project managers, and business managers for an intense immersion into the key technologies and strategies for becoming a data-informed business.
Many presentations from Data Summit 2016 have been made available for review at www.dbta.com/DataSummit/2016/Presentations.aspx.