As a data professional, do you ever get the feeling that there’s just too much to be done? A feeling of being overwhelmed is often paralyzing. Sometimes necessary steps are …
The Big BI Dilemma
Every technology, every architecture, and every design technique has an expiration date. And this is very true for the world of information technology. It would be inconceivable if assembler languages, …
Dashboard Best Practice Guide
What is a dashboard? A dashboard visually displays multiple reports on a single page, allowing you to monitor your most important metrics at a glance. Dashboards are the perfect way …
Crossing the Data Delta
If you are a large enterprise about to invest in Big Data, BI, Data Governance or MDM, leverage best practice by having your key staff read this book. Of all …
GDPR, Brexit, Ethics, and Agile: Oh My!
The GDPR and Brexit create a bit of a “perfect storm” for UK businesses. One thing is clear: GDPR, and its risk management approach to data privacy, will be in force …
Building Data Castles in the Air?
In the halcyon days of my youth one of my favourite songs was Don McLean’s ‘Castles in the Air’. It highlighted McClean’s emotional dislocation between his desire to lead a …
Gorilla vs. Guerilla Modelling
I often run sessions at which a range of people, from individual contributors and subject matter experts, through to senior managers and even CxO-level executives (CEO, CFO, …) eagerly and …
CIO & CDOs: How Does Brexit Impact Your Data Management Strategy?
By now I’m sure you’ve had more than your fill of Brexit analysis, memes, and even a tie-in to the England National team’s exit from Euro 2016 tournament. It’s been well …
Get More Out of Hadoop by Building Your User Community
If you are launching Hadoop in your enterprise, you’ll want to get the most out of its rich data. Users across the enterprise have important roles to play in your eventual …
An Introduction to Graph Databases
Graph databases are one of the fastest growing categories in data management, yet they remain an enigma to many. What can these workhorses do for your enterprise? If you are …
How will Brexit have an impact on the UK’s Data Protection Act?
If you think that the UK’s referendum result will mean the end of the UK’s familiar Data Protection Act, then you are likely to be mistaken. The original Data Protection …
Information – the Next Natural Resource
I’ve spent my career looking at how large quantities of complex information affects every part of our lives and this is the most exciting time to be doing that. Information …
5 Reasons Cloud MDM Will Save you Money, and 5 That Will Save Your Business
The benefits of cloud computing have been written up and proven in every way imaginable. You need only to look at the rapid growth and ascension of popular consumer sites …
Themes from a Chief Data Officer Forum – the 180 day perspective
Time flies as Virgil observed some 2,045 years ago. A rather shorter six months back I attended the inaugural IRM(UK) Chief Data Officer Executive Forum and recently I returned for …
When will the EU Data Protection Regulation enter into force?
I am making an assumption that regardless of whether the UK votes in the referendum on 23 June to stay in or leave the European Union, the EU Data Protection …
Is IT Splitting up?
A recent report by Forrester, revealed that more than half of companies with 10% year on year revenue growth have appointed Chief Data Officers (CDOs). Although overall only 45% of …
Top 10 MDM Strategic Planning Assumptions
Because master data is required to provide competitive advantage, increase customer service levels & drive new product/service combinatorial market offerings, Master Data Management (MDM) must embrace Big Data analytics in …
The Data Governance – Business Dialogue
Productive relationships are based on establishing a shared understanding, then maintaining a meaningful dialogue. For data governance initiatives this means going beyond merely imposing policies and standards and engaging in …
Data Quality – Why I Do What I Do
Data quality and governance might be one of the most unrecognized professions. Oftentimes, I find myself faced with the question “What do you do?” The underlying question is also “Why …
Happy Birthday Data Warehouse—Thirty Today!
Well, perhaps not exactly today! But, it was way back in 1986 when I and colleagues in IBM Europe first defined a data warehouse architecture for internal use in managing …