Data management refers to the ability and systems you need to identify, define, integrate, retrieve and action different datasets for different purposes. A typical example is customer contact or payment details, which are used by sales, marketing, and analytics alike.
The cornerstone of data management is to create accurate and consistent content standards. They should contain very precise methodologies around use cases and contextual meaning (which you can capture in metadata), so as they move throughout the enterprise from one process or person to another, you can be assured of information fidelity and accuracy.
What is DataOps?
DataOps begin with a thorough analysis and audit of your information and storage systems — from dusty old paper records to your cloud computing accounts — creating a conversion program and installing and maintaining the software that’ll be used to house it all. Then it’s time to go live, extracting and verifying data from multiple hard and soft copy sources, moving it where it needs to be, and performing regular maintenance to ensure ongoing data integrity.
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The Role of the DataOps Specialist
The dataOps specialist is the guru who puts everything in the right format and on the right platform so it can be used, shared, and verified seamlessly. Often converting older records from analog to digital, they design and deploy storage platforms, ensure ease of use and access, and train staff on storage, saving, retrieval, and use.
DataOps specialists design systems that track and report on where every data point is and what it’s doing. Users then need only query a typical UI dashboard; where sales of a certain component are strongest, how many customer records are moribund because they don’t match up with other directory sources, how many hours staff are spending deleting spam.
Answers to those and countless other questions that will make your company more efficient are all to be found in your data, but until a dataOps specialist builds a pipeline to transfer or share it around, you’ll spend way too long finding it – or worse, maybe never know.
Data Management and DataOps Specialists
Harnessing your data and exploiting it to its full potential will give you a competitive advantage.
Good data management provides:
- The tools to make better decisions
- The ability to roll out new well-tested applications and services
- The opportunity to create better customer interactions and experiences.
- Alignment between your staff and the data systems they use with minimal disruption
- Automation of data storage software
There’s an inherent tension between the need to secure data to meet regulatory requirements and use that data to fully explore new revenue opportunities. A knowledgeable dataOps specialist can connect the two, making data management a set-and-forget proposition. He or she will help overcome system complexities and the high cost of getting the best out of your data.
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Building Revenue with DataOps
DataOps specialists are no longer a luxury, they are a necessity. While another C-suite manager costing an average of $95K a year will take some selling to your board, the amount of potential revenue a dataOps specialist will potentially contribute is now beyond speculation.
The ongoing costs around systems design and implementation for dataOps are hard to pin down because they can often grow out of other infrastructures you already own or control. The potential to save and make money through greater efficiency and insight is similarly intangible, but it’s an important part of investing in business digital transformation.
DataOps specialists build workflows through your organization so every one of those signals — from a customer browsing your website to a cog in an autonomous vehicle needing to be changed — is accounted for and put to work. Whether you’re working with legacy systems that aren’t being folded into your data workflow fast enough or you’re recruiting the latest intelligence machine learning algorithms can extract, a dataOps specialist can bring all of those streams together.
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