Building a data culture to accelerate digital transformation

Craig Stewart, SVP of products, SnapLogic, explains why building a data culture before undergoing digital transformation, rather than during, ensures buy-in from employees from the beginning, and facilitates swift execution out of the gates

Ask any business leader for their 2019 business and technology priorities, and no doubt you will hear about strategic plans to become more data-driven, as well as sweeping digital transformation initiatives to ensure data is better utilised across the organisation; while that’s all well and good, it doesn’t necessarily mean their employees on board building a data culture which is really pushing their business beyond the competition.

A data culture is, simply, when everyone in the company is switched on to the potential of data. They use it, understand its potential and its limits, and know that data enables rather than blocks progress. For a data culture to thrive, data must be ingrained in the company DNA, applied in the very corner of the organisation, with employees empowered by and encouraged to act on data.

Building a data culture needs to be a crucial part of the digital transformation process. By instilling a shared value, attitude, and competency towards data across the organisation, it can aid and accelerate the implementation of strategies and technologies necessary for successful digital transformation. But how do you develop a data culture robust enough to deliver those benefits?

Good leadership, training, talent, and support are the biggest drivers for shifting culture. But the turning point in building a data culture that’s great only comes when employees at every level of the business understand that data can improve the business. Regardless of their position in the company, everyone needs to buy into building a data culture and understand how and why it will make their lives easier.

It might be difficult to be switched on to a data-first approach if, for example, you’re a cleaner of office buildings. However, imagine a member of the facilities management team comes to you with real-time, dynamic data that reveals where the greatest footfall is, at varying times of the day, as well as rooms or even entire floors where there’s next to no traffic for days at a time. Armed with this up-to-date data every morning, you now have the visibility and insights needed to alter or even reduce your workload, making you more efficient and productive.