Are you struggling with your data?

You are not alone. Most of the companies that I work with at Avanade have either modernized their big data systems or data appliance infrastructure in Azure already, or they are starting their data infrastructure modernization journey.

What they have in common is that they are struggling to get the value out of their data at enterprise scale. In addition to required architecture modernization, these challenges stem from a lack of planning or action to address the role that data management, people, and policies play in modern data ecosystems.

You are about to start a data and analytics modernization journey. What should be top of mind?
Before starting the journey, you must know your starting point and have a clear destination in mind. You need to understand how you will measure the tech value and data modernization impact you are planning to achieve. Clear and measurable ROI across platform operations, data operations, data access management, and analytics efficacy are just some examples of what should be included in your value realization plan.

Once you have considered your big-picture goal, you will need to work out your sticking points. Understanding your challenges is the first step to unlocking the true value of your data. So, like other organizations, what is standing in your way?

Taking a coherent data and analytics strategy forward matters, but 72% of organizations are without one. It is a common issue and can lead to a siloed ecosystem if left unchecked.

Poor governance and manual data management can hurt organizations too. Inaccessible and mismanaged data can prevent democratized data access, reduce speed to insights, increase cost of ownership and lead to compliance and risk issues. However, CDOs do recognize the risks surrounding poor governance. It is why 62% are planning future investment to tackle the issue, with 45% of this spending set to commence within six months of their survey response.

Unintentional disconnects between data producers and data consumers can lead to a lack of perception, with producers being unaware about organization-wide data use.

Finally, what about ownership – do you maintain technical ownership rather than data ownership, or is there confusion about it? Ownership issues can result in high data management costs as well as the duplication of identical or similar data which can contribute to data proliferation and muted value.

Taking a modern approach to data and analytics
Building end to end modern data and analytics ecosystems in Azure demands the rights approach, reference architecture, and implementation stages.

At Avanade, we help our clients do this using Microsoft’s Modern Analytics and Governance (MAG) at Scale approach and guidance, alongside our intelligent data platform assets and experience.

Make it MAG at Scale
I have witnessed many organizations comprehend the importance of their data. But, as the figures show, not all of them know how to approach building the right data architecture, management and governance capabilities.

It is why MAG at Scale is such a compelling approach for supporting an organization’s modernization journey. MAG at Scale is aligned to data mesh, data fabric and data hub, and built on several core components, including enterprise data strategy, composable solutions, technical architecture and implementation stages. For data-driven organizations, it is providing a framework for a transformative end-to-end analytics ecosystem.

With MAG at Scale guidance enabled capabilities combined with our platform accelerators, organizations typically experience improved time to insights, from weeks and days to just hours and minutes, along with material data duplication reduction, and improved data utilization.

How has it worked?
Today’s economy is uncertain, with evolving challenges stemming from climate change, supply chain disruptions, cyberattacks and more. But, for the insurance market, the complexities are magnified when working to understand economic changes at speed.

Using the MAG at Scale approach, Avanade helped one insurance organization apply modern analytics and governance at scale. The project proved a huge success, enabling the organization to better plan for risk, through efficient, faster and more accurate use of its data. Long term, the organization is in a far more favorable position to adopt AI use cases and reporting consolidation to support its strategy.

Maximizing business value from your data is crucial for maintaining your competitiveness. Your organization’s first step in this journey is to look inwards, evaluate your goals and understand the challenges on the road ahead.

While transforming your analytics ecosystems is the route to success, you need a proven approach and expert partner to get you to the finish line. It's why Avanade is perfectly placed to help you unlock the true business value of your data.

You can read more about how we help clients accelerate analytics ecosystems modernization in Azure – by working with Microsoft on leveraging the MAG at Scale approach and guidance along with Avanade Intelligent Data Platform assets and accelerators – in our whitepaper. Download our MAG at Scale white paper today.