“Existing conditions” is a term for conditions that don’t last very long. Amazon changed the face of retail. Google democratized access to information. Facebook and pretty much every social media site has changed the way we interact with each other. Change came to Carrs Tool Steels, too. The U.K. supplier of tool steel and high-strength […]
Developing a Data Strategy Template
Creating a Data Strategy, like a Business Strategy, is an art. In a Harvard Business Review article, Joshua Gans, professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, notes two typical errors made with a Business Strategy: spending too much time searching for the one true strategy and getting paralyzed by uncertainty — hence, […]
So You Want to be a Data Governance Specialist?
A Data Governance Specialist is responsible for deploying and enforcing policies and procedures that ensure data is used and maintained properly. Some organizations confuse the title “Data Governance (DG) Specialist” with the title “Data Governance Manager.” The DG Specialist is not a member of upper level management and does not dictate policy. This person, however, […]
Modernize Data Practices with DataOps
Back in 2015, a new term was introduced to the market: DataOps. “DataOps,” wrote Andy Palmer: “Is a Data Management method that emphasizes communication, collaboration, integration, automation and measurement of cooperation between data engineers, data scientists and other data professionals.” The practice was born out of the democratization of analytics and the implementation of built-for-purpose […]
Data Virtualization for a Hybrid World
Many organizations see the hybrid cloud and multi-cloud models as critical to their present business requirements, and to their future ones too. Organizations are paying more attention to the use of containers to help with simple and automated portability and scaling that can play an important role in accelerating cloud projects and deliverables; to cloud […]
Graph Databases: An Overview
The concept of graph databases traces back to Leonhard Euler. Euler was an 18th century Swiss mathematician who made several important discoveries in mathematics, such as infinitesimal calculus. In solving the “Seven Bridges of Königsberg” problem in 1736, Euler laid the foundations for graph theory. (He also got a fun shout-out in Hidden Figures when […]
Harvest Data Lineage to Build Effective Data Governance
Being able to trace data from its origin to its destination is no longer a nice-to-have. It’s a must-have if you are to govern data — and of course you’ve got to govern data. Without metadata, data lineage can’t exist, and if data lineage can’t exist, neither can Data Governance. Metadata brings together assets and […]
Case Study: New Innovations in IoT Technologies for Manufacturers
Manufacturers want to save money, conserve energy, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but it’s a challenge to see where and when energy use is occurring. When the utility bill arrives, a manufacturer can see how much total energy was used, but energy use is not broken down on a machine-by-machine basis. Invisible energy use hides […]
Data Governance and Data Discovery: Enabling Data Regulation Implementation
Businesses are continuously striving to leverage data-driven insights or competitive intelligence, the concept of developing an organizational “data culture” will gain prominence. Data and data analytics will continue to play key roles in global businesses of the future. According to the article Why Data Culture Matters: “Organizational culture can accelerate the application of analytics, amplify […]
Bringing Hyperconvergence Architecture and VDIs to Everyone
A hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) uses software and/or hardware to create an IT infrastructure that virtualizes all of the needed elements to create an efficient and highly functional computer processing system. An HCI includes compute, networking, and a storage combined together in a virtualized environment, and normally runs on easily purchased, off-the-shelf commercial servers. The primary […]