(US and Canada) Julia Bardmesser, SVP, Head of Data Architecture and Salesforce Development at Voya Financial, talks with Jason Masker, Chief Technology Officer- Field, StrataScale, about digital transformation’s people aspect and the need to involve the execution levels in leveraging data.

Bardmesser highlights the need to build a diverse team to enable multiple approaches to digital transformation. The team should include engineers, architects, and program managers, she explains, emphasizing that even the smallest teams should have one of each.

There is also the need for a fourth one, a peacemaker to manage disagreements in a healthy way. The other necessary skill set she says is of a translator who will translate between business needs, values, strategy, and data.

Bardmesser notes that technology and business sides each need a proper understanding of how the business can succeed by leveraging data, which will enable small successes in building trust and confidence.

To make a large-scale impact, involvement at the institutional level is crucial, she continues. It is critical to engage the people with execution power — those  who fully understand how to rely on and use data assets — to bring business value.

In conclusion, Bardmesser states that plenty of education, reiteration, and collaboration between the business and technology teams help leverage data, enabling successful digital transformation.