Data Management Is What Makes the Digital Workplace Work
Ask enterprise leaders what data management is and you are likely to get a different answer from everyone you ask. This is particularly true given the move to remote work and the corresponding data management needs of the millions of computers now used for this new reality. However, there is a consensus on the fundamentals of data management, how it should work and what it should do.
Data management, simply put, is the process by which an organization stores and distributes data around the digital workplace as well as figuring out the best and most compliant way to gather it. With the digital workplace built around applications that run off data or that enable workers to access data, data management and associated technologies are now one of the most important assets in an organization.
Employing data management enables more efficient access to data analytics that offer insights needed to improve business operations and identify opportunities for improvement. By establishing a better framework to access the wide swaths of data every business generates, companies can make more informed decisions and improve their ability to deliver valuable products and services to customers.
The pandemic has been an important reminder that organizational agility and speed are key to successfully navigating business disruption and market change. Effective data management is at the heart of this. Data is the engine that enables companies to see around corners, flex and adapt as needed, and run faster in order to scale up and seize the moment, especially in times of rapid change.
In our current remote work environment, where swivel chair and hallway conversations are no more, employee productivity, efficiency and time to value are prized more than ever, said Craig Stewart, chief technology officer at San Mateo, Calif.-based enterprise integration company SnapLogic.
As a result, many organizations are turning to low-code automation technologies to rid themselves of the repetitive, time intensive and low-value tasks that slow them down, thereby freeing themselves up to focus on more strategic projects that deliver fast business value.
“At the same time, the importance of data to organizations continues to grow, no longer prized only by data specialists but now a critical asset used on a regular basis by workers across each and every business function, from marketing to finance to HR,” he said.
There is another issue, too. It has become increasingly more challenging to distinguish an employee’s personal data from their work-related data given there’s no longer a clear delineation between work and home, said Joel Friedman, chief technology officer and head of software development at Chicago-based Aclaimant.
Due to the transition to remote work, data access restrictions have had to change to allow for access from remote locations. Bandwidth concerns for corporate applications are more important as users are no longer on corporate networks. All in all, these changes will benefit companies as they enable more secure and robust networks, systems and applications.
As more data enters the organization, the security problem grows. Marcelo Lebre, chief technology officer at Portugal-based Remote, said the shift to remote work has forced companies to restructure their data management practices and employ stricter security policies to manage distributed teams across a digital workspace.
