Data Empowerment Fueled by Self-Service
From overburdened data operations experts enabling data usage, to end-users struggling to access the data that matters, organizations continue to look for ways to give stakeholders the tools they need to do their jobs more effectively. A key trend proving successful in data empowerment is investing in self-service technology. Self-service done right can enable a new level of productivity and operational efficiency to fuel the next generation of data transformation.
What is data empowerment?
Data empowerment is about giving everyone within an organization control over their individual data destiny.
Organizations are taking broad action across the business to enable data empowerment. They are improving the accessibility of available technology. They are providing training programs and workshops to end-users based on their level of expertise or requirements. They are prioritizing collaboration and communication. They are leaning on next-generation technology like AI/ML to help recommend actions and predict outcomes. And, I would argue, most importantly, they are enabling all of this with technology rooted in self-service capabilities to empower all employees, regardless of skill level or line of business, to access data easily, securely and seamlessly on their own terms.
The benefits of embracing and enabling employee self-service
Organizations that embrace and enable self-service give employees the ability to complete data tasks more effectively and efficiently. This goes for overburdened data experts on operations teams tasked with building pipelines and delivering data to the right stakeholders, as well as end-users who are constantly asking for access to new or additional data. In fact, data provisioning is one area where self-service is game changing. Based on research completed by ESG on behalf of erwin by Quest, most organizations have already embraced self-service data provisioning, with 93% of respondents citing current or planned use of self-service data provisioning.
What impact has self-service data provisioning had on organizations? Seven out of 10 respondents report their organizations’ self-service data provisioning capabilities have had a significant, if not game-changing, impact on the business. To understand this impact, ESG asked organizations how much time typically went by between requesting data and getting access to it. On average, end-users gain access to data they request in approximately 2.5 days. For those organizations that leverage self-service data provisioning, the time is reduced significantly. Line of business respondents said the time to data access through the use of self-service provisioning is approximately one business day faster than those not yet leveraging it. And this is not a one-time benefit. Imagine the snowball effect of always having access to data about a day faster than the competition.
Organizations continue to look for ways to deliver the right tools, technology and training to empower all employees to achieve data-driven success. With both experts and generalists alike benefiting from data-centric guardrails delivered through self-service technology, self-service will continue to be viewed as an easy no-brainer investment area. Simply put, who wouldn’t want to ensure faster ramp-up of data-driven initiatives with fewer interruptions, all while delivering ongoing productivity improvements?
Download the full erwin by Quest 2021 State of Data Governance Report, which looks at data empowerment and the connections between data governance, data operations and data protection. This report will enable you to learn about data governance program maturity and how to ensure your organization can use not just its data but its data intelligence to achieve its goals.
