Tracy Ring, CDO and Global Generative AI Lead for Life Sciences at Accenture, speaks with Amy Horowitz, VP of Data Governance Solution Sales at Informatica, in a video interview about changing the perception of data governance, driving data literacy, the top-down approach to encouraging data-driven decision-making, and the role of technology and data marketplaces.

Ring says that a game-changing step towards driving data governance has been to rebrand governance as data fluency. She explains that everybody likes to be fluid and that idea of being an advocate for the data backbone and contributing towards it. The concept of being AI fluent or data fluid was sticky and aided change management.

When asked about an effective step towards driving the cultural change towards data literacy, Ring says that technology has brought along transparency and a high degree of trust in data. This has played a vital role in democratizing data, opening it up, and educating on the value of how one is contributing to the knowledge corpus of data.

Ring further mentions the top-down aspect of change. When leaders follow a data-driven culture and challenge the status quo by leading by the numbers, it makes data just as important to all the individuals working on it.

Sharing her view on the role of technology and fostering collaboration in an active data community, Ring says that users today are entirely reliant on technology, meaning, they expect it to work seamlessly. With various tools being AI-enabled the expectation is it is reliable, trusted, and adequate for decision-making.

Speaking about the impact of data marketplaces, Ring says that data marketplaces can be a significant catalyst for accelerating the shift toward trusted data sources. As a Chief Data Officer (CDO) her primary focus is empowering users to leverage reliable data.

In Ring's view, data marketplaces offer an exceptional way to simplify data access for users. These platforms not only connect users with data but also pre-curate it, essentially providing a stamp of approval. This allows users to confidently make decisions, eliminating the tedious and time-consuming process of finding reliable data on their own.

In conclusion, Ring speaks about her approach to ensuring that data insights are incorporated into the decision-making process. According to her, many data sources exist and the company actively works to ensure all relevant data feeds into a central, reliable source, which they refer to as the "golden record."

However, Ring acknowledges that individuals might use data from outside this trusted source which can be called the "experimental data zone." The focus on utilizing the most important sources for the most important decisions is paramount, she adds.

CDO Magazine appreciates Tracy Ring for sharing her invaluable data insights with our global community.

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