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FINAL WORD
Five simple ways to
get your C-suite on
board with data
Having a data-driven culture within a business is
absolutely key to success. James Eiloart, Senior Vice
President of EMEA, Tableau Software, talks about
the important factors to consider when it comes to
developing a sustainable and scalable data culture.
S
ome think the phrase ‘data is the
new oil’ is already over hyped and
overused, but if it has shot to overuse
so quickly then it’s probably worthy of
attention. Research shows that insights-
driven organisations will grow at least seven
times faster than global GDP (Forrester,
2018) – so there should be no doubt about
the power of data to improve business.
Just as oil prospectors recognised the
huge opportunity that came from
extracting, processing and harnessing a
valuable resource, today’s most successful
organisations understand the importance
of creating an environment where everyone
feels empowered to analyse data to find
new insights. This kind of environment – also
referred to as a data-driven culture – is only
successful when senior leadership has made
data a priority for the entire company.
But for many businesses today, this kind of
culture is a major shift and requires change –
change in technology, mindset and priorities.
For anyone in business, particularly large
companies, shifting the ethos and values of
an entire company is incredibly difficult. In a
survey by NewVantage Partners, just 40% of
executives reported success in implementing
a ‘data-driven’ culture, so there is clearly a
significant barrier.
Among organisations struggling to make the
transition to becoming data-driven, many
cite difficulties in getting C-level support as
a significant obstacle. According to research
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INTELLIGENTCIO
by Forrester Consulting, nearly 50% of data
professionals expressed a belief that their
C-level executives don’t fully support their
organisation’s data and analytics strategies.
I’m fortunate in my job that I get to speak
with countless customers from diverse
geographies and industries. I consistently
hear from them that building a data-driven
organisation is only successful when it’s
clearly mandated by senior leadership.
Securing buy-in at the C-suite and board level
is critical. Without their support, changing an
organisation’s culture in a sustainable and
scalable way becomes an uphill battle.
So how does someone succeed in getting
their C-suite involved with becoming a data-
driven organisation?
It’s not a one size fits all solution. Every
business is unique and the point you are
at in your company’s data journey can be
completely different to one of your peers.
Speaking to customers who have successfully
secured buy-in from the C-suite, they have
done so by being bold, putting themselves
out there and getting specific about the
business benefits and ROI data can bring.
Here is a list of the top five methods which I
consider have helped achieve executive buy-
in, straight from our customers:
• Choose (a few) champions: Data
is being generated by almost every
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