Is Your IT Environment Optimized For The Long-Term? 4 Tips To Ensure Success
By Frank Suglia, BitTitan
As we dealt with the impacts of a ravaging pandemic over the last two years, a common trend emerged: Organizations made a mad dash for the cloud to enable remote workforces. But many made that rush without a comprehensive long-term plan. It’s no surprise, then, that the amount of data created increased dramatically in 2020, and no less so within a single company or organization. It begs the question: Two years later, what’s next in a company’s overarching cloud strategy?
Haste does indeed make waste. There is a growing need to better deal with data sprawl, invest in governance, and leverage new tools to manage compliance and discovery. Structuring and managing data is critical. However, re-evaluating your data management presents a golden opportunity for true digital transformation.
It's a new world. The pandemic bandages need to give way to a sea change in how your company handles data. Here are four valuable tips for executing a smart longer-term strategy for your cloud and data management future.
Assess What You Have
First, it’s important to assess your current data and how it’s managed. Readdressing your cloud protocol lets you look at how your data structures fit together and what practices work best for your organization and business needs.
Ask yourself: Do I need to retain all data? Does everyone in the organization need access to it? Streamlining data cuts down on costly clutter and time-consuming searches. As you assess, know that there will be governance, compliance, and e-discovery rules to follow. Retain data that’s necessary for compliance, and only make it available to individuals who need it most. Consider storing data externally, if possible.
This kind of assessment can inform data management best practices that align with your cloud strategy, helping to mitigate future issues. Mismanaging data or lacking a larger governance plan can have serious consequences for organizations. If you don't have a handle on all your data and the tools necessary for things like e-discovery, you could be at a legal disadvantage.
Without an optimal data infrastructure, employee satisfaction can decline and internal friction can arise if staff is constantly chasing down the data they need. Reassessing how your organization manages data is an opportunity to introduce a new governance model.
Offer The Right Tools And Training
The right tech solutions can make employee workflows and operations more efficient. The appropriate tools and training for staff enable productivity.
Ensure employees are familiar with the tools you roll out, as well as the best practices for using them. For instance, when working in platforms like Microsoft Teams, having multiple paths to a destination helps end users work as efficiently as possible.
Selecting a solution that fits your business goals comes down to the build-versus-buy argument. Determine your organization’s most important attributes. In some instances, your company may need a custom application or solution.
Technology is rapidly advancing. Success comes from determining your selection criteria, seeing how new technology integrates with your organization and measuring how the technology is applied against how your employees and organization operate.
Establish A Governance Roadmap
Data governance and best practices do not always lead to simple solutions. Consider developing a governance roadmap, a living document to help you tackle small problems and undergo strategic projects over a year to drive reporting, governance, and other assessments. As you onboard new SaaS solutions or other applications, evaluate them from the roadmap perspective and how they fit into your company’s governance model.
Build flexibility into the governance model and your organization’s approach to tech solutions and data management. It's essential to have contingency plans in place. How your cloud environment is set up will dictate and inform the right tech solutions and best practices for data governance.
Authorize A Governance Lead
Investing in governance isn't just about using technology; it's about the proactive use of technology. Consider hiring a data governance lead at the CTO or CIO level. Charge them with defining the reporting and methodologies for allocating technology resources, applying those resources, and measuring the associated costs. And make sure your governance lead is fully supported.
Having access to data when you need it is critical to monitor and assess your data at the right time. If you don't have those controls in place, your data could be outdated or redundant when you access it.
Various department heads have different needs. For instance, HR and IT support both require access to different types of data that vary in sensitivity. Consider developing departmental “personas” and dictate what data is available to each. Establishing personas can help ensure the appropriate data is available to the correct department based on needs and preferences.
A sound governance model is critical to cloud strategy. As more companies rely on remote workforces and operations, the risk of experiencing crippling data sprawl increases. As you look to maximize the value of your cloud environment, make the most of the opportunity to implement effective governance practices. You’ll reap a host of benefits, both now and down the road.
About The Author
Frank Suglia is the vice president of technical sales at BitTitan, where he works closely with the company’s partners to showcase and drive new and recurring revenue. His areas of expertise include SaaS, digital marketing and performance optimization, enterprise solution delivery, technology sales, and delivery methodologies, and user interface design.