Thanks to digital, we have become conditioned to expect everything in an instant. At the tap of an app or the click of button, we can get what we want in record time, whether it’s a toaster from Amazon or a piece of information from Wikipedia. ‘Everything, now’ is so ingrained into us that we forget that not everything can be achieved so quickly and conveniently. Some things take time to get right. Like cheese. Or fine wine. Or a sustainable data strategy.
It can feel like a contradiction in terms: data is supposed to be fast, isn’t it? It’s all about instant insights, agility and quick reaction times. The whole point of using data (be it for decision making, or automation, or analysis) is to make our businesses better, stronger, faster… so surely implementing a data strategy or solution should be quick, too?
The truth is, if you want your data to deliver all of those things, you have to put the groundwork in first, laying a strong data foundation for your business that – once it’s built – can make virtually anything possible with data. There’s no software you can buy in that can make up for that foundation: don’t be distracted by the industry’s many acronyms and buzzwords that can sometimes, usually unwittingly, suggest otherwise.
So how do you know whether you’re the first, second or third little pig? Is your data strategy built of straw, sticks or good, solid bricks?
Building your strategy out of straw
It’s as we’ve always said at Amplifi: you put rubbish in, you get rubbish out. Straw is a rubbish building material (especially if you’re in the northern hemisphere).
Similarly, if you have rubbish data and you pour it into some kind of data software (whether it’s an MDM platform or a Data Streaming solution) you are going to get rubbish results. No technology can transform bad data into good data, just as even the most creative little pig can’t turn a few bales of straw into a solid semi-detached house.
