As we approach the end of the year, it is a custom to try to have some sense of what is coming next year. Here are two predictions and a hope for 2018.
Two Predictions
- Better answers for “what am I looking at?”. Data is best understood if there is a clear context and definition of what it is, why you should use it, who uses it, for which tasks. There have been many ways to achieve this goal over the years including short and long descriptions captured in metadata. What’s new and growing is establishment of a common shared understanding of what a piece of data or report represents, sometimes called a Data Catalog or Report Catalog. The best and most successful examples will combine or integrate cataloging with a Social Graph for collaboration and storytelling.
- Oceans more data, and ponds of more governance. All kinds of new and bigger data will be generated by the Internet of Things and much more besides. Governance of that data, it’s storage, and use, is evolving more rapidly too (Google GDPR), but the growth of understanding and application of governance is nowhere near the pace of the growth of data. Growth beating Governance is probably a good thing, but too big a gap can lead to problems.
A hope
- Better answers for “what is this worth?”. Resources of all kinds are spent on Data and Analytics: buying, building, deploying, improving. While we all get better at those activities, Business Intelligence and Analytics leaders in any business function will find ways of defining, measuring, and managing the value of the activity. The best examples capturing value will find ways of embedding value concepts in both the data, and the use of the data to automatically measure value-added activity.
This work originally appeared on the Purely Analytical blog at www.purelyanalytical.com