“Above all else, show the data.” — Edward R. Tufte
Data is the backbone of every organization, but without a reliable data intelligence platform, businesses risk inefficiency, missed opportunities, and competitive disadvantages. In my experience handling high-priority executive-driven data requests, I saw firsthand the chaos that comes from relying on siloed systems and inconsistent reporting processes. Multiple teams would scramble to produce data, only to find discrepancies that required retracing steps and reconciling sources.
At The Groove, we understand these challenges and the necessity of building a strong data foundation. Our Application Managed Services (AMS) for data strategy help organizations democratize data, drive better decision-making, and improve profitability and agility, all while ensuring robust security and governance. This blog explores the common obstacles to building a robust data platform and how The Groove’s services can help organizations move up the data maturity curve.
The Challenges of Building a Robust Data Platform
Building a comprehensive data and intelligence platform and strategy is no small feat, with organizations encountering a range of challenges including:
- Cultural Barriers: Low data maturity and lack of trust in data, creating hesitation around usage and reliability.
- Access Issues: Multiple sources and applications with different security protocols can create silos and hinder accessibility.
- Defining needs: Multiple business requests for data with overlapping sources and no clear definitions for the purpose, leading to confusion and inefficiency.
- Cost Concerns: Excessive costs stemming from multiple licenses and inefficient data transfer processes.
- Governance Gaps: Lack of KPI targets, inconsistent definitions, and inefficient data storage practices undermine the reliability and usability of data.
- Security and Governance: Disparate data sources, data access rules, local data regulations all can limit access to and slowing a firm's ability to react to changing needs
Moving Up the Data Maturity Curve
To maximize the value of your data, it is essential to move up the data maturity curve. This involves transitioning from basic reporting to advanced analytics and decision-making capabilities. Here are some key considerations:
- Efficiency to Eminence: Start with functional activities and basic reporting, then progress to understanding trends and advanced insights. This journey involves expanding the use of analytics across different personas, from report consumers to data scientists.
- Governance and Organization: Establishing a robust governance framework is crucial. This includes defining roles, understanding existing business intelligence (BI) capabilities, and ensuring that data processes are well-established and production ready.
- Technology and Data: Leveraging the right technology and ensuring comprehensive data coverage are essential. This involves using tools like Workday Prism for advanced analytics and integrating data from various sources to provide a holistic view.
The Groove's Comprehensive Data Services:
Our mission is to create a data intelligence strategy and platform that is accessible, secure, and user-friendly. We understand many organizations may be at the beginning of their data maturity journey, often relying on ad-hoc queries, custom reports, and/or have not established a robust reporting governance framework in their core enterprise business application for HR and Finance data.
We aim to drive greater decision-making capabilities and increase overall profitability and agility while maintaining robust security and control. Here are some of the key services we offer:
- Data Platform Strategy and Roadmap: Developing a comprehensive data strategy that aligns with your business goals. This includes a detailed roadmap for implementing a modern data platform.
- Data Governance: Establishing clear policies and procedures for data extraction, processing, storage, and usage to ensure data reliability, security, and compliance.
- Data Maturity Assessment: Evaluating your current data landscape to identify gaps, opportunities, and potential risks, and providing a roadmap for improvement.
- Data Migration: Assisting with the seamless migration of data from legacy systems to modern platforms, ensuring minimal disruption and maximum value.
- Lakehouse Deployment: Implementing a unified data platform that combines the best features of data lakes and data warehouses, enabling advanced analytics and AI capabilities.
- Ongoing BI Development: Maintaining and enhancing your business intelligence tools to ensure your data remains actionable and relevant.
Unlocking Value with The Groove
With our Application Managed Services (AMS), we help you progress up the data maturity curve with Workday at its core, enhanced by Prism and “beyond” Workday data services, with our unique capabilities in Databricks. Our approach ensures:
- HCM and Financial Data: Leverage the reporting tools and full capabilities in Workday, providing robust self-service reporting leveraging your inherent security model.
- Operational Data: Consider the broader organizational data strategy and use cases. In certain cases, data may need to be accessible in a datalake to develop your own custom AI models tapping into revenue or operational data.
- Unified Data Governance: Establishing data lineage and governance to ensure consistency and reliability.
- Easy Access: Providing business users with easy access to reporting, dashboards, and analytics.
- Cost Efficiency: Reducing overall costs associated with data management and improving security and compliance.
Conclusion
At The Groove, we are passionate about empowering organizations to find their groove with data. Our AMS services go beyond traditional solutions, offering a comprehensive approach to building a secure, accessible, and user-friendly data foundation. Whether you’re just starting your data journey or looking to elevate your analytics capabilities, we partner with you every step of the way to ensure your data becomes a strategic asset.
By leveraging the full potential of Workday, enhanced with advanced tools like Prism and Databricks, we help you integrate HR, financial, and operational data into a cohesive strategy. Our tailored solutions address the unique needs of your organization, enabling you to unlock powerful insights, enhance decision-making, and stay agile in today’s fast-paced business environment.
Data is more than just numbers—it’s the key to driving innovation, improving efficiency, and achieving long-term success. With The Groove, you gain a trusted partner dedicated to helping you transform your data into a competitive advantage. Ready to take the next step? Contact us today to explore how we can help you harness the full power of your data.