Is your organization’s data mature enough?

Umvel’s framework for data maturity assessment

Written by Cesar Moron, Data & Analytics expert at Umvel

Nowadays, we’re living in a hyperconnected system where almost every interaction we have, generates data. Organizations that have succeeded in gathering, saving, processing and extracting insights from data, are great examples of why The Economist stated back in 2017 that: “data is the most valuable resource nowadays.” And yes, even more valuable than oil.

Thanks to technological advances, the necessary architecture for taking advantage of data, is now accessible to all kinds of organizations. As more companies implement successful data strategies, competitors realize the urgency to catch up with this fundamental pillar in their digital transformation. Furthermore, a new generation of executives seem to have an increased awareness of how valuable data can be, resulting in more data-driven projects each day.

Although the number of data initiatives across organizations has soared, it’s estimated that more than 80% of data projects fail. The main reason for this high percentage resides in a lack of data maturity. ‘Hitting the road’ to extract value from data starts by checking your vehicle conditions first, otherwise you might get stranded before you reach your destination. You have to ensure to have the right vehicle with the right conditions, for the destination you have chosen. With other words: you have to know your level of data maturity.

Data maturity is the state to which the different components of the organization’s data architecture, directly influence and impact the company’s programmatic decisions. The higher the impact, the more mature the data. When data maturity is high, data is available for all entities and all those entities provide data in real time, allowing the formulation of strategies that improve effectiveness. This must be supported by a solid base of data governance: all necessary policies to define the usage, transference, access, sharing, collection and storage of data.

Data projects come in a wide range of complexity levels. Riding the wave of ‘the hype’ makes lots of organizations look for complex data solutions that are not in line with the real necessities of their business. An initial assessment of the organization’s data maturity readiness has been a widely used solution for implementing successful data projects.

At Umvel, we developed a data maturity assessment framework suitable for a wide range of organizations. This framework helps define the conditions of the ‘vehicle you will use to ride the road’ and extract value from your data. We do this, by conducting a thorough analysis of the status of your data management by:

1. Interviewing stakeholders
2. Analyzing processes
3. Checking up the technology architecture the organization is based on

Umvel’s data maturity assessment framework

This kind of assessment opens the door for a long term, successful data strategy.

The fact there’s a lot of value in data, stands without a doubt. As organizations realize this, the demand for data projects has soared. Nevertheless, in order to run successful data projects, it’s important to reach a high level of digital maturity. This makes the data maturity assessment an important tool to set up the technology, governance and human resources necessary to start, maintain and evolve a successful data team that adds value to your business.

Get in touch with cesar.moron@umvel.com or frank.vandeven@umvel.com to find out more about our data maturity assessment.