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Adel Nehme
VP of Media at DataCamp
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The Infrastructure Component of Data Maturity

September 2022

Summary

Organizations are increasingly understanding the importance of becoming data-oriented as data continues to grow as the key driver for technological innovation. Despite considerable investments in data science, AI initiatives, and recruiting data talent, many organizations still face challenges to reach a state of data maturity. The infrastructure element of data maturity is a critical factor that determines how organizations can effectively provide data access, ensure data quality, and implement data tools. The IPTOP framework—Infrastructure, People, Tools, Organization, Process—offers a guide for progressing through different maturity stages. The initial stage, data reactive, is marked by limited data access and collection, with data often stored in separate tools like spreadsheets. To advance to data scaling, organizations need to establish data collection, conduct checks on data quality, align metrics across departments, and outline a data architecture. Centralized data storage solutions, such as cloud-based data warehouses, improve efficiency and quality. As organizations move to data progressive, they focus on implementing their infrastructure strategy by adopting centralized storage and rolling out governed data access. Transitioning to a data literate organization involves investing in data discovery, data observability, and moving from a small-scale analytics approach to a more comprehensive one. Ultimately, broad investments across infrastructure, people, and culture are necessary to achieve data maturity.

Key Takeaways:

The importance of data maturity in organizations lies in enabling data-oriented decision-making and operational excellence.
The IPTOP framework guides organizations through different stages of data maturity, starting with infrastructure.
Centralized data storage solutions enhance data quality, efficiency, and security.
Data observability builds on data quality by monitoring data health and reducing data downtime.
Investments in infrastructure need to be accompanied by investments in people, culture, and skills to realize their full potential.

Deep Dives

Data Maturity and the IPTOP Framework

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aturity is an essential element for organizations that aim to be data-oriented. The IPTOP framework—Infrastructure, People, Tools, Organization, Process—serves as a guide to progress through the stages of data maturity. Infrastructure forms the foundation, enabling data access that is high-quality, governed, and actionable. Without a solid infrastructure, the remaining pillars of the framework cannot be implemented. Organizations must work towards making data accessible and building a data culture that supports data-oriented decision-making. As data continues to grow exponentially, the ability to leverage it effectively is critical for extracting value and making informed business decisions.

Centralized Data Storage Solutions

Centralized data storage solutions, often cloud-based, are key in enhancing data quality, efficiency, and security. Providers such as AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud offer data warehouses and data lakes that serve as centralized repositories for organizational data. The transition to centralized storage involves migrating separate data sets into a unified system, improving data collection efficiency, and facilitating better data governance. Centralized storage also allows for the application of privacy measures and quality policies that ensure data security and integrity. As the cloud infrastructure market grows, organizations are increasingly adopting these solutions to improve their data operations and support data-driven initiatives.

Investing in Data Discovery and Observability

Data discovery and data observability are essential components of a mature data-driven organization. Data discovery tools, such as Lyft’s Amundsen and Uber’s DataBook, facilitate the ease of finding and understanding data assets within an organization. They provide context, lineage, and ownership information, enabling users to make informed decisions. Data observability extends beyond data quality, applying software engineering best practices to monitor data health and eliminate downtime. It focuses on aspects like freshness, distribution, volume, schema, and lineage of data assets. Together, data discovery and observability empower organizations to maintain high data standards and minimize disruptions in data operations.

Moving From a Small-Scale to a Comprehensive Analytics Approach

The transition from a small-scale analytics approach to a more comprehensive one represents the evolution of data teams from experimental stages to efficient production environments. This shift is characterized by the adoption of MLOps practices, which improve the deployment and monitoring of machine learning models. MLOps is not solely an infrastructure investment but involves cultural and skills-based components, requiring collaboration across departments. Data literacy is achieved when organizations can efficiently implement data insights and models, scaling their impact across the business. By investing in the right tools and practices, organizations can enhance the speed and efficiency of their data talent, ultimately improving business outcomes.