Reporting, BI and Data...
Daniel Gilbey
Service Management Specialist, delivering exceptional solutions for clients to optimise their service operations and exceed their business objectives. Co-host of the Xcession ESM podcast and XcessionTV channels.
How much data exists in the world?
'The amount of data on the internet is constantly growing, and it is difficult to say exactly how much data there is at any given time. However, estimates suggest that the total amount of data on the internet reached 175 zettabytes in 2022. A zettabyte is equal to 1,000 exabytes, or 1 trillion gigabytes.'
Okie dokie, so... a lot then!
You can find numerous articles about 'data lakes', 'data reservoirs', 'data warehouses', 'data vaults', 'data from Star Trek' ??
and more, and don't you know it, you've got data, more of it than ever before (and more all the time).... so the question then is, are you extracting the value and insights from this? After all, this is 'your' data - are you making the most of it (and can you trust it)?!?
and more and MORE coming....
Whether you're reporting against metrics, KPIs or other business elements, you ideally need to be sure that your foundation data is accurate, deduplicated, current and accurate ?? or, and you likely know this already, you run the risk of compounding or extrapolating against 'duff data' and, to use a naval analogy, if you're navigation is off by even just 0.1% you're going to end up somewhere completely different to where you intended!
Or in other words, you're going to miss your target!
In the world of Service Management and within many/most organisations, the Configuration Management Database (CMDB) is often cited as a fundamental 'single point of truth' from whence a variety of reporting is derived from.
So what can you do to ensure that your font of actionable data is actually actionable and trustworthy?
Alongside the below, Gartner have a 12 step program on how to improve your Data Quality ??
“Data quality is directly linked to the quality of decision making,” says Melody Chien, Senior Director Analyst, Gartner. “Good quality data provides better leads, better understanding of customers and better customer relationships. Data quality is a competitive advantage that D&A leaders need to improve upon continuously.”
?? Establish Data Quality Standards:
Define clear data quality standards and guidelines for your CMDB, including data accuracy, completeness, consistency, and timeliness. Ensure that all stakeholders understand the importance of maintaining data integrity and adhere to these standards in their day-to-day activities.
? Regular Data Audits:
Conduct regular audits of your CMDB to identify discrepancies, inconsistencies, and outdated information. Verify the accuracy of data entries against authoritative sources, such as asset records, change requests, and service documentation. Address any discrepancies promptly to ensure that the CMDB reflects the most up-to-date information.
?? Automated Discovery Tools:
Implement automated discovery tools and configuration management solutions to continuously scan your IT environment and populate the CMDB with accurate and real-time data. These tools can automatically discover and record configuration items (CIs), relationships, and dependencies, reducing manual effort and human error in maintaining the CMDB.
?? Change Management Integration:
Integrate your CMDB with your change management process to ensure that all changes to the IT infrastructure are accurately documented and reflected in the CMDB. Require that all changes go through a formal approval process, with updated configuration records created or updated as part of the change implementation.
?? User Training and Awareness:
Provide training and awareness programs for CMDB users to educate them on the importance of accurate data entry and maintenance. Emphasise the impact of inaccurate data on IT operations, service delivery, and decision-making processes. Encourage users to report any discrepancies or inaccuracies they encounter in the CMDB promptly.
Ok, I've done all that, so what?
So what?! So what??! So... now you have an amazing, accurate and current pool (why are the associations mainly water related, it is because data is fluid?) of information available to you from where you can extract insights, metrics, establish baselines, benchmarks as well as having the ultimate confidence in what you are reporting on! This then serves to give you and your organisation 'actionable intelligence' to move forwards with (to your destination) your objectives, strategies towards success!!
Well, I've looked at my data and .... err ... there are some issues I can see ....
?? Firstly, great that you've looked and identified that, in fact, there are some challenges with your data (impacting on your reporting etc) ??
?? Secondly, you'll be pleased to know that these aspects can be fixed, 'we can rebuild this; we have the technology' (and it won't cost $6million) ??
?? Thirdly, if you're uncertain where to start, then a great start point would be to have a conversation with us and we can give you an idea of how best these challenges can be approached and assist you in forming an action plan ??
Xcession have extensive practical experience when it comes to remedying data quality concerns and ensuring that your foundational data is solid, correct and as it needs to be, not just for now, but also in assisting you in putting in place the relevant guardrails and processes so that as your data reserves grow, you can remain fully confident in the insights and information you draw from this in future.
Why is all this important?
It's well quoted that 73.6% of all statistics are made up, so being that's the case, even more of a reason to want to ensure that you're pulling from an accurate information layer to inform on <insert your important objective or thing here>
The other 26.4% of statistics we're not 100% sure on either.... ??