Rethinking Data Quality: From Barrier to Breakthrough
Jayanta (Jay) Gupta
Senior Vice President, Head of IT, Diagnostics at Siemens Healthineers | Harvard Alumni | Disrupting status-quo and executing DX digital transformation | CIO | CDO
We’ve all been there: investing in data governance frameworks, hiring data stewards, and implementing rigorous data quality tools, only to find that the needle hasn’t moved significantly. Despite following academic best practices, many enterprises still struggle to unlock the true potential of their data. The problem isn’t just about fixing data quality—it’s about rethinking how we approach it altogether. ?
Instead of treating data quality as a barrier, what if we treated it as an opportunity? The paradigm shift we need is this: stop waiting for perfect data and start leveraging the data you have to drive value today. ??
Here’s the reality: data will never be perfect. But even imperfect data, when used strategically, can deliver transformative insights. The key is to focus on actionable outcomes rather than chasing an unattainable ideal. For example, instead of spending months cleansing data before launching an analytics initiative, start small. Use available data to identify quick wins, prove value, and iteratively improve quality as you go. This approach not only accelerates time-to-value but also builds momentum and buy-in across the organization. ??
But there’s more. During major business IT projects, such as platform switches/major upgrades etc, we must avoid the trap of mass data migration from legacy systems. Instead, start greenfield. Treat data quality as a change management topic, not just a technical one. Train and empower end users to manage data effectively, and eliminate manual interventions wherever possible. Use IT and technology to automate the hell out of it. Automation isn’t just a tool—it’s a mindset. By embedding automation into data processes, we can reduce errors, improve consistency, and free up resources to focus on higher-value activities. ?
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In conclusion, data quality is not the obstacle —inaction is. By shifting our mindset from “fixing” to “doing,” we can unlock the immense potential of data, even in its imperfect state. Let’s stop using data quality as an excuse and start using it as a catalyst for change. ?
The future belongs to organizations that act, not wait. Are you ready to lead the charge? ?
#DataQuality #Innovation #DigitalTransformation #Leadership #Automation #ChangeManagement
StratOps Leader passionate about driving Business Growth & Operational Excellence | GTM & Market Development | Strategic Marketing | P&L Mgmnt | Accelerating Access to Optimized Cancer Care| Molecular Biologist, Swimmer
3 周Jay - I fully agree—data quality shouldn’t be a barrier but an opportunity. A patient and disciplined approach to data quality initiatives is essential; without it, teams often create mismatched mappings, undermining the value of data. Cleaning at the source and maintaining it through strong governance takes time but pays off in the long run. Automation and an agile approach are key, and as you mentioned, it's truly a mindset shift. Excited to see more organizations implement this change and unlock data’s full potential!
Global Business Executive | Supply Chain Management Leader | Transformation Leader | Operations Expertise | Strategic Solutions Focused | Innovator | Propelling Growth
1 个月Jayanta (Jay) Gupta great article. I cannot agree more with the sentiment about data quality being a change management topic and an ideal case for an agile approach. A minimal viable product in this case is a foundation without you cannot start and you build / improve there. And thats continuous work of improvement. No big bang. Also the agile approach will allow you success and benefit eaylry in the process. This way you get the organization excited and fuel the next steps. I think the work we have done on the Supply Chain side, embracing data lake concepts early and continuing to improve the quality of actionable data we made available is a good example.
Gerente Regional de Tecnologia da Informa??o na Siemens Healthineers | MBA em Gest?o Estratégica de TI
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