Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Chief Data Officer: Understanding Perfect vs. Practical When Including Cloud Modernization in Your Business Strategy

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Cathy Doss, Chief Data Officer, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, talks with Susan Wilson, VP Data Governance and Privacy Segment, Informatica, about her job responsibilities and profile. She shares her work domain to ensure that her businesses have the data they need, and that it's easy to find and ready to use.

Regarding cloud modernization as part of Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond's strategy, Doss says it's important for businesses to know and understand why cloud modernization is required. What is the business trying to get that they're not getting right now? How would the business benefit? And a few more questions that should be answered, for example: Is it about eliminating data centers or the storage of big data, or is it analytics, or maybe all of the above.

She says that it's mostly about taking the time to understand the benefit of cloud modernization and then putting a business case around that. But, of course, this business case has to include the cost of replumbing. So, it's not like you're going to pick up something on-premise and drop it on the cloud. Unless it's a fixed amount of data, that typically doesn't always fetch much value for a business because they are getting the next evolution of it daily, weekly, and monthly. And if a business is going to take something on-premise and move it to the cloud, they will need business engagement.

Hopefully, Doss says, there is a step change as a part of that, and the benefits and costs are considered. and so putting this business case that considers the benefits, but then ponders on the point-like what the costs of doing it are? Because it's not free to move to the cloud, she points out. While moving, business people are taken away from doing their day jobs. They will need to be involved and engaged, and hold themselves accountable to the business case. Then comes more questions: Are things going the way we thought they would?' Are they more expensive or less expensive? What did we do right or wrong while implementing that shift?

If you think that cloud data and analytics are essential, you must make sure you're making the right trade-offs and that you truly are getting the benefits out of that shift from on-premise to cloud. Doss also says it's always essential to consider how to create a step-change while making that move to the cloud. And she believes that it is where the benefit is. Also, she advises that you should never build, hoping the business will come. Doss grew up in technology, but she doesn't consider herself as much a technology professional as a data professional. Yet she applauds many of the technical professionals' responsibilities.

It all boils down to understanding practical versus perfect, she says. It's about creating tangible value and understanding her support businesses. And always revisit your roadmap to determine what makes sense when you take the next step.