Why you must revisit your Data Strategy?

If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there…

“You think we will have to review our Data/analytics Strategy?” – asked a professional friend and business leader last week.

I answered with a question”, “how often do you review your company strategy and that of your business function?”.

“Well, things change all the time in our area. We don’t want to be blind-sided by any new risks or miss out on opportunities to improve our efficiency and margins. So, even though the corporate strategy is for a 3-5 year window, we review that at least annually and evaluate new opportunities every quarter to make adjustments,” – he said.

Data is no different. Change is constant and rapid in this area, and well-evaluated and well-intended decisions can sometimes turn sour quickly.

Remember, Big Data platforms and Data Lakes? The boil-the-ocean approach taken on BCBS by some companies? Some large platforms and tools consolidation work?

Mistakes will be made, and no one can foresee many years into the future.

What is important is that the data strategy is created for your specific situation, on a strong foundation, lined up with where you want to go as a company, and periodically evaluated for opportunities and risks.