VIDEO | Eminent Data Consultant: Transformation Is An Incremental Journey

(US and Canada) Prominent data consultant Meethun Panda speaks with Kellie de Leon, Senior Director of Marketing at Treasure Data, in a video interview about the role of data in digital transformation, building the strategic roadmap, and the need for organizations to improve their data governance practice.

Panda says that data is a true enabler for digital transformation because every digital interaction generates meaningful data. Leveraging the data effectively provides organizations the opportunity to derive value. They can also leverage technologies like AI and ML for real-time data processing to generate insights.

He further adds that data governance and maturity are the supporting blocks for accelerating AI and ML use cases, and that data and analytics cannot be separated.

When asked how digital transformation can help companies unlock the full potential of data to improve customer experience, Panda says that despite knowing the customers and the segment well, it boils down to three main areas:

• Data availability - ensuring that the organization's data is available when needed
• Data accessibility - ensuring that the data is easily accessible
• Data reliability - ensuring high-quality data

He elaborates that digital transformation can help alleviate the data challenges to support the decision-making process and better understand customer needs.

Speaking on how leaders should think about building a strategic roadmap to unlock the potential of their data, Panda says that there are a few precursors to building a roadmap. They are:

• Prioritizing the highest impact use cases based on business priorities
• Making data and technology accessible across the organization
• Recognizing the importance of being aligned with the decision-maker

Next, he speaks about the following steps for building a strategic roadmap:

• Understanding where the organization currently stands and where it wants to go - assessing the current landscape and identifying gaps and opportunities. This also requires the right technologies to support the target state
• Defining the key milestones to achieve and making sure that each milestone is generating incremental value
• Engaging with key stakeholders including the customers throughout the process
• Have buy-in and commitment from the leadership
• Ensuring that it is not a one-time effort and is an iterative process. This is because the priorities often change in large-scale digital transformation programs

Transformation is an incremental journey. So, it is crucial to ensure that stakeholders know each milestone and that the leadership team provides the required support, Panda signs off.

CDO Magazine appreciates Meethun Panda for sharing his insights and data success stories with our global community.

See more from Meethun Panda 

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