We have helped a multitude of organisations harness data and analytics to create value for their business and their customers. Based on our experience, we believe that many organisations would benefit from a clearly defined data strategy. Read what data strategy is, why it matters and how to get started.

What is a data strategy and why do you need one
What is a data strategy and why do you need one
Bridging the gap between business strategy and practical data development
The purpose of a data strategy is to build a bridge from the organisation’s strategic choices into the discovery of opportunities for creating value with data and the development of practical data capabilities. The data strategy should cover the entire data value chain from obtaining and managing essential data assets, to generating actionable insights from analytics and business intelligence, and eventually delivering tangible value in the form of business use cases.
Why having a data strategy is so important right now
Several factors have converged to create a pressing need for a dedicated data strategy that augments the overall strategy of the organisation:
- Rapid technological development has opened up a host of new opportunities for creating value from data and analytics, while at the same time rendering much of existing infrastructure obsolete and unfit for competition.
- Consequently, the utilisation of data and analytics has become a crucial competitive factor, transforming it from the sole responsibility of IT into a central concern for every business function.
- Often, the various parts of an organisation seem to be on different data and analytics maturity levels, leaving many people unsure what data and analytics means for their role, and what is expected of them in the data-driven future.

Data strategy is a vital management tool
A well-formulated data strategy will equip the management with the right tools to tackle the aforementioned challenges by:
- Ensuring that the organisation focuses its scarce data and analytics resources on those initiatives that yield the greatest strategic impact.
- Telling a compelling and inspiring story that helps everyone within the organisation understand why data is important, what the organisation is trying to achieve with it, and what is their own role in it.
- Building confidence among stakeholders that the organisation knows how to create value with data and is determined to make it happen.

Elements of a data strategy

Based on our learnings from the numerous clients we have worked with, we have composed a data strategy framework that presents a structured, tried-and-tested approach to developing a successful data strategy. It defines the main elements of a data strategy, describes how they are connected together, and provides practical guidance for conducting the strategy development process. Here is a quick overview of the main elements:
Data strategy elements
Keep your data strategy up-to-date
It would be tempting to think that once you have outlined your data strategy, the execution is simple and straightforward. However, nobody has a crystal ball that can predict the future, and even the best-made plans will not survive their first contact with reality intact. Therefore, we encourage you to build continuous experimentation and learning into your data strategy execution. You need to identify the most critical assumptions that your plans are based on, and proceed to test them swiftly. We recommend establishing a regular schedule for reviewing and fine-tuning your data strategy at least annually, if not quarterly – it usually makes sense to synchronise the data strategy review with the overall strategy review process.