Why nobody talks enough about data agility

We get it, data is the biggest asset in today’s fast-paced world. It demands the answer to the question “If you are not utilizing data, then what are you doing?”. Companies have started jumping on that wagon straight ahead. The market screams for them to put data at the forefront of their strategies. And so it began the revolution of companies analyzing what they have and turning it into one of their biggest assets.

And all is fine and well. There is no one more thrilled by this than data scientists and data engineers. But, what companies fail to realize is that all that precious data is sometimes a nightmare to handle. Imagine your company having several hundreds of employees and your services or product also generate or collect data. These amounts of data that are flowing through your company are so big that without proper management solutions, it’s going to fail.

Yes, data can be your biggest asset, but it can also be the biggest pain point.

Nowadays, companies go from zero to a hundred, when there is a buzz around data. Then they employ data companies and expect instant results, without properly analyzing their data sources and architecture. Data agility is a term that might be unfamiliar to them and it’s something not talked enough about. So, that is why we’ll cover it now.?

What actually is data agility?

Data agility refers to a quick and active data system that works fast to deliver results. It is the speed and flexibility at which data moves while satisfying business needs quickly, at scale, and with accuracy. Data agility presents data health.?

This presents how quickly can you turn mountains of data into actionable information. It’s how efficiently can an insight or a metric turn into immediate action and reaction. And it’s not only about handling data, it’s about real-time data accessibility.?

Data needs are ever-changing, and with data agility, companies can anticipate and respond to them. Data delivery time is highly important and data analysts and scientists are most sensitive to that. Rigid, slow, or siloed data is what’s preventing companies from achieving full digital transformation and business optimization. Data projects are harder to accomplish in such environments.?

Why data agility?

You might wonder why data agility since it sounds just like extra work. But trust us, you need it more than you think. Without it, you’ll face rigidity in your data systems which will in long term produce only unwanted effects and issues.?

It allows to rapidly respond to changes in data - With data agility implemented and achieved inside the company, users can respond to changes and disturbances more quickly. We’ve already established that data moves at an unprecedented speed and it constantly changes. Having the ability to see those changes and react on time is vital for business stability. Imagine when there is a sudden change in a data set and you missed it. You missed important information that could influence the market and thus how your business performs. Response times have become shorter and shorter, and answering on time has never been so integral.

Better and more accurate data - If data moves fluidly and each user can access it on demand and just on time, there is a better overview of data health and how accurate it is. If data stagnate or we encounter siloed data, it’s harder to get a grasp on it. With the implementation of stable data management systems that allow for data to be observed (data observability) we can establish better and more quality data.

Optimized data management processes - Data agility rests on proper and efficient data management systems. They are non-excludable. One does not happen without the other. If the goal is ultimate data agility, then proper data management has to be implemented. With a higher level of agility comes a better infrastructure and better data management processes. Optimization is key.

Easier data-driven project or software development and implementation - It goes without saying that if we have a great data flow and adaptability to changes, future data-driven projects or software development will be easier to achieve. Simple as that - better data collection, storage, and accessibility are the right way towards enabling structured, accurate, and healthy data.

Scales and optimized business processes - So many companies invest so much into optimizing and scaling their business processes. Often they disregard the fact that not everything relies on solely management processes, but rather on how information flows between departments or employees. With data democratization, data agility gets even more important. Adaptable data and adaptable employees to that data, provide the chance to scale daily operations and turn in work more efficiently.?

Better response to the market - Right data at the right time is probably the biggest return on investment. Responding to the correct information that came in just in time is a cost-saver and loss-avoider. Anticipating changes in the market, based on data, is the ultimate goal for any business. Data agility, as we said before, is what makes sure that the information flows seamlessly from databases or storage to the user.

You can connect and achieve data agility with data fabric. In our recent blog post by our data team lead Renato Bosnjak , you can delve deeper into the data fabric concept and architecture.?

Conclusion

It is absolutely clear that data agility is a must-have. It’s what has allowed, not only companies, but health and other organizations that take care of people’s safety, to answer to data changes and use it to provide additional value. It’s not only a hype, it’s a management system that gives stakeholders the chance to use data to its best applicability. Fast-moving and flexible data moves not only decisions and companies but markets as well.