How businesses can run the data marathon

Successful data management is a marathon, not a sprint. Amplifi can be your personal trainer all the way from ‘Couch to data fit’ to running the data marathon.  

So, you’ve followed our Couch to Data Fit guide and got your data quality up to scratch. You’re now able to access the data you need, when you need it, and are ready to use that data in new and exciting ways. As a result, your business is running smoother than a varnished James Bond.

But will this always be the case?

Data management is a marathon, not a sprint. While short term goals are important, successful data management is a long-term process: one that is always changing and evolving. Even if your data management is fulfilling its purpose in the here and now, that won’t necessarily always be the case. Just like a fitness regime, you need to keep working on your data if you want your business to stay in shape. Things change – your customers, your market, your employees, your data – and your data objectives will need to change with them.

Once you’ve completed your data fitness training, you need to keep focussing on your data health as well as setting new goals to ensure that your data remains fit for purpose long into the future.

Don’t slide back into old data habits: the importance of Data Governance

You could spend three weeks going to the gym, eating healthier meals and making a conscious effort to improve your mental and physical fitness. But if you stop going and head back to your unhealthy diet after those three weeks, it will all be for nothing.

In the same way, your business needs to ensure that when it irons out bad data practices, they are ironed out for good. Once you’ve finished your data quality initiatives, make sure you have the right data governance in place to enable everyone in your business – from your C-suite to new starters – to embrace data literacy and follow data quality practices.

Without Data Governance, you will find that your data quality starts to slide over the time, with those bad habits (data siloes, poor data hygiene, inconsistent data input, etc) gradually creeping back into the business until you’re back to square one. A bit like re-starting your ‘get fit’ resolution every January 1st, having abandoned the last one the previous February. You can read more about Amplifi’s Data Governance support services, and how they can help you avoid this, here.

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Taking the next step: setting new data fitness goals

Now you’ve caught the data-fitness bug, what’s next for your data plans? Sometimes, a couch to 5K is rewarding enough in itself, but often it’s just the start. Now you know what you’re capable of, what’s next? London Marathon? Climbing Everest?

Once you’ve completed your Couch to Data Fit, you open a whole host of new opportunities with data. With a data-first mindset, and the data quality to back it up, you can use data to explore all kinds of new benefits. It could be moving from a successful PIM implementation to a more comprehensive MDM solution, or a basic customer data initiative to 360-degree customer visibility platform. A Quick-service restaurant, for example, could go from using data to improve online customer engagement, to implementing point of sale automation and personalisation. 

Running the data marathon: how to evolve and meet your long-term data objectives

As your business objectives change, your data management solutions need to evolve with them. But how can you make sure you keep scaling your data in line with your business needs?

At Am we help our clients adapt their data management and processes to keep meeting their data goals: whether that’s by unlocking new capabilities in existing platforms, or implementing new data software solutions. From MDM to PIM to CDM, we’re able to thoroughly assess your business’s long-term solutions and work with you to create a bespoke solution to your requirements.

As data support specialists, we also offer support and enhancement services throughout the data journey – helping our clients to review their needs, adapt their data strategy, and maintain data quality for the long haul.

Whatever your organisation, Amplifi can get you data fit with a fitness plan that will get your business moving. Download our guide to building your data fitness below, give us a call on +44 1926 911820 or get in touch today.

Download Couch to Data Fit: Amplifi’s data quality bootcamp

Amplifi act as your personal data trainer, from setting off on your Couch to Data Fit to running the data marathon and beyond, helping you evolve your data strategy based on long-term business goals. Want to get better data quality in four weeks? Download our guide today.

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