Data Management Explained: What It Is & Best Practices

With the exponential growth of data and the challenges it presents, organizations must adopt systematic and structured data management practices to unlock valuable insights, gain a competitive edge, properly secure information, and conform with compliance requirements.

Data management is a broad topic and requires the focus and diligence of every area of a business to be handled properly. Critical functions such as data governance, integration, quality management, master data management (MDM), metadata management, security and privacy, data lifecycle management, and data warehousing/data lakes must be carefully considered, constructed, and put into practice.

By implementing “best-of-breed” practices, organizations can harness the power of data, enhance analytical capabilities, and make informed decisions for strategic planning and growth.

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Data Management: Definition

Data management—a crucial component of modern business operations—provides businesses the framework to define, integrate, store, and retrieve their data for both operational and analytical purposes. 

According to Gartner, data management consists of the practices, architectural techniques, and tools for achieving consistent access to and delivery of data across the spectrum of data subject areas and data structure types in the enterprise, to meet the data consumption requirements of all applications and business processes.

What Is Master Data Management (MDM)?

Master Data Management or MDM differs from conventional data management in its approach to handling data across an organization. While conventional data management might be localized within specific departments or business units, MDM focuses on providing a unified, consistent view of critical data across the entire organization.

Gartner defines Master Data Management as: “a technology-enabled discipline in which business and IT work together to ensure the uniformity, accuracy, stewardship, semantic consistency and accountability of the enterprise’s official shared master data assets. Master data is the consistent and uniform set of identifiers and extended attributes that describes the core entities of the enterprise including customers, prospects, citizens, suppliers, sites, hierarchies and chart of accounts.”

Master Data Management (MDM) is a vital aspect of any organization's data management strategy, ensuring that the enterprise has a single, consistent, and authoritative source of truth for its critical business data. This includes data about customers, products, suppliers, and other key entities that are central to business operations.

This comprehensive approach prevents data discrepancies, redundancies, and conflicts that can lead to poor decision-making and operational inefficiencies.

What Is Big Data Management?

Big data management is a rapidly growing field in the realm of information technology, central to the success of modern businesses. It involves the organization, governance, and administration of vast quantities of structured and unstructured data collected from various sources. 

While similar to conventional data management principles in terms of ensuring data accuracy, accessibility, consistency, and completeness, several aspects distinguish these two types of data management, primarily attributed to the scale and variety. These are also commonly referred to as the 4 V’s of Big Data: Volume, Variety, Velocity, and Value.

• Volume: Big data, as its name suggests, involves managing an immense amount of data, often reaching the scale of petabytes or exabytes. 

• Variety: Big data encompasses a wide variety of data types, including structured, semi-structured, and unstructured data. It includes data from diverse sources such as social media posts, sensor data, transactional data, etc. Traditional data management primarily focuses on structured data, which can be easily organized into relational databases.

• Velocity: The speed at which data is generated and processed in big data scenarios is much higher than in traditional scenarios. Big data management often involves real-time or near-real-time data processing, while conventional data management typically deals with batch processing.

• Value: Both types of data management—big data management and traditional data management—aim to extract value from data. However, big data, due to its sheer size and complexity, often requires advanced analytics methods to uncover hidden patterns and insights. This is less common in traditional data management.

Given the volume, variety, and velocity of big data, it is typically more complex to manage. It requires advanced tools and technologies to store, process, and analyze this data effectively. On the other hand, conventional data management often relies on traditional database management systems (DBMS). Thus, while both big data management and conventional data management share a common goal, they are distinct in their handling of data due to the different scale, type, and processing speed of the data involved.

Types of Data Management

End-to-end data management can encompass a range of solutions that collectively address the various stages of the data lifecycle. There are multiple solutions in the market today to address one or more of these areas, so customers have choices to make.

1. Data Integration: Data integration solutions facilitate the process of combining data from different sources, formats, and systems into a unified and consistent view. These solutions may include Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) processes, and data replication services.

2. Data Quality Management: Data quality management solutions ensure that data is accurate, consistent, complete, and conforms to predefined standards. These solutions typically involve data profiling, data cleansing, data validation, and data enrichment techniques to maintain high-quality data.

3. Metadata Management: Metadata management solutions help in capturing, organizing, and managing metadata, which provides context and information about data assets. These solutions maintain metadata repositories, enable data lineage tracking, and facilitate data discovery and understanding.

4. Data Governance: Data governance solutions establish policies, processes, and controls to ensure proper data management practices within an organization. They define data ownership, data access controls, data security measures, and compliance frameworks to govern the overall management and usage of data.

5. Data Security and Privacy: Solutions for data security and privacy protect data assets from unauthorized access, breaches, and ensure compliance with privacy regulations. These solutions encompass data encryption, access controls, user authentication mechanisms, data masking, and anonymization techniques.

6. Data Storage and Infrastructure: Data management involves choosing appropriate storage and infrastructure solutions to meet the organization's data storage, processing, and scalability needs. This may include traditional data warehousing solutions, cloud-based storage, big data platforms, or data lakes.

7. Data Analytics and Business Intelligence: Data management solutions also support analytics and business intelligence initiatives. They provide data modeling, data transformation, and data preparation capabilities, enabling data scientists and analysts to extract insights and generate reports or visualizations.

It's important to note that the specific solutions required for end-to-end data management may vary depending on the organization's industry, size, need, and data ecosystem. Implementing a comprehensive data management strategy often involves integrating multiple solutions to address the entire data lifecycle from data acquisition and integration to storage, analysis, and governance.

Why is Data Management Important?

Having a comprehensive process for data management is critical for today’s data-driven organizations. Data is often considered the most valuable asset a company has. Properly managed data can provide valuable insights into customer behavior, market trends, and operational efficiencies that can give an organization a competitive edge.

It is not enough to implement only one part of an overall data management program for companies to thrive. For example, accurate, timely, and relevant data is crucial for decision making at all levels of the organization. Effective data management ensures that the right data is available to the right people at the right time. However, this alone is not enough; regulatory compliance and security must be properly managed in order to build and maintain customer trust and operational efficiency. 

Failure to implement effective data controls can have significant and potentially costly consequences. In fact, there have been many examples where poor (or non-existent) data management processes have resulted in penalties, litigation, and data breaches. 

Benefits of Data Management

When properly designed, implemented, and monitored, data management can lead to a number of advantages, such as:

1. Informed Decision Making: Effective data management provides businesses with accurate, reliable, and timely information. By organizing and maintaining data in a structured manner, businesses can extract meaningful insights and make informed decisions. Data-driven decision making enhances strategic planning, resource allocation, and overall operational efficiency.

2. Competitive Advantage: In today's data-driven landscape, businesses that can effectively leverage their data gain a competitive edge. Proper data management enables organizations to uncover patterns, trends, and customer preferences, allowing them to identify market opportunities, optimize processes, and develop innovative products and services. By staying ahead of competitors, businesses can thrive in dynamic and competitive markets.

3. Understanding the Customer: Data management helps businesses gain a deeper understanding of their customers. By collecting and analyzing customer data, organizations can segment their customer base, identify buying behaviors, and personalize marketing campaigns. This customer-centric approach enables businesses to deliver targeted experiences, enhance customer satisfaction, and build long-term customer relationships.

4. Operational Efficiency: Data management streamlines business operations by ensuring data accuracy, consistency, and availability. By establishing a data governance framework, organizations can standardize data formats, eliminate duplicates, and maintain data quality. This, in turn, enhances process efficiency, reduces errors, and minimizes the time and effort required for data handling and analysis.

5. Risk Management and Compliance: Data management plays a critical role in mitigating risks and ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements. Proper data governance practices, including data security measures, access controls, and privacy protocols, protect sensitive data from unauthorized access, breaches, and potential legal ramifications. By adhering to data protection regulations, businesses build trust with customers and stakeholders.

6. Innovation and Business Growth: Data management facilitates innovation by providing a foundation for advanced analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. By integrating and analyzing diverse datasets, businesses can uncover new insights, identify emerging trends, and drive innovation. Leveraging data also enables organizations to identify untapped markets, develop new revenue streams, and fuel business growth.

7. Cost Optimization: Effective data management helps businesses optimize costs associated with data storage, maintenance, and analysis. By implementing data lifecycle management practices, organizations can identify obsolete or redundant data, leading to efficient resource utilization. Additionally, proper data integration and data quality management reduce the need for manual data reconciliation and correction, minimizing operational costs.

In summary, data management is vital for businesses as it enables informed decision making, provides a competitive advantage, enhances customer understanding, improves operational efficiency, ensures compliance, drives innovation, and optimizes costs. By treating data as a valuable asset and implementing robust data management practices, businesses can unlock the full potential of their data, driving growth and success in today's data-centric business landscape.

Challenges of Data Management

Implementing data management processes can pose several challenges for businesses. Understanding that these are typically found in most organizations gives you a head start when it comes to bringing the teams together to work on a plan. Below is a checklist of eight pointers that you want to keep in mind as you embark on your data management journey. 

1. Data Quality and Integrity: All businesses deal with issues such as incomplete or inconsistent data, duplicate records, data errors, and outdated information. Until mature systems and processes are in place, it is unavoidable. Poor data quality can lead to inaccurate insights, unreliable decision making, and inefficient processes.

2. Data Governance and Ownership: Determining data ownership, defining data access controls, and establishing clear policies and procedures for data management require coordination and alignment across different departments and stakeholders within an organization. Get these teams aligned as early in the process as possible.

3. Data Integration and Compatibility: Integrating data from multiple sources and systems is often complex. Businesses will face challenges in terms of data format compatibility, varying data structures, and different data quality standards. Ensuring seamless integration while maintaining data consistency and accuracy can be a significant hurdle all by itself.

4. Data Security and Privacy: Businesses must implement robust security measures, encryption protocols, access controls, and privacy frameworks to safeguard sensitive data while maintaining data usability.

5. Technology Infrastructure and Scalability: Businesses may face challenges in terms of selecting suitable data storage solutions, ensuring sufficient processing power, and scaling their infrastructure to accommodate growing data volumes and evolving analytics needs. There is a delicate balance between designing the correct architecture for today’s needs while planning for the future; without over-paying up front.

6. Change Management and Cultural Shift: Embracing data-driven decision making, fostering a data-centric culture, and promoting data literacy among employees can be a challenge. Change management efforts, training programs, and organizational buy-in are necessary to drive successful data management adoption. Helping employees understand the benefit to them will make the transformation go more smoothly.

7. Resource Constraints: Businesses all face the same challenges; keeping the lights on while also supporting an effective data management program. By incrementally investing in data management technologies, hiring data management professionals, and providing ongoing training and support, all of the benefits of data management can be realized. 

8. Evolving Regulatory Landscape: The constantly evolving regulatory landscape, such as data protection regulations like the GDPR or CCPA, poses challenges for businesses. Staying compliant with data privacy and security regulations requires ongoing monitoring, policy updates, and adherence to changing requirements.

Overcoming these challenges requires a comprehensive approach that combines technological solutions, organizational alignment, data governance frameworks, and continuous improvement efforts. 

We are not suggesting that you must have the perfect solution, all at once. That is not feasible or reasonable at the pace of today’s business environment. We are suggesting that each area be considered in the context of your business: Where is your business today? Where are you exposed? What is your risk tolerance? Make a list, prioritize it, and get started towards optimizing data management for your business. 

Data Management Best Practices

One of the most important decisions you will make with regards to your business’ data management programs is to determine who will lead the effort and prioritize each part of the process. This provides a clear direction and helps prioritize efforts and resources and lessens the impact on the corporate culture.

With that out of the way, the “punch-list” for each area is basically the same:

1. Define Clear Objectives: Identify the specific problems you aim to solve, the key metrics you want to improve, and the benefits you expect to achieve. 

2. Conduct Data Inventory and Assessment: Perform a thorough data inventory and assessment to understand the data assets within your organization. Identify data sources, data types, data quality issues, and data dependencies. This assessment will help identify gaps and inform your data management strategy.

3. Prioritize Data Quality: Focus on data quality improvement initiatives from the outset. Implement data profiling, data cleansing, and data validation processes to ensure data accuracy, completeness, and consistency. Monitor data quality continuously and establish mechanisms to address data quality issues promptly.

4. Develop a Data Management Strategy: Create a strategy that aligns with your business goals. Ensure that the strategy fully addresses problems identified in the first step.

5. Prioritize Data Security: Data should be appropriately accessible inside your organization, but you must put protections in place to keep your data secure from outsiders. Train your team members on how to handle data properly, and ensure your processes meet compliance requirements. Be prepared for the worst-case scenario and have a strategy in place for handling a potential breach. Finding the right data management software can help keep your data secure and safe.

6. Invest in Suitable Technology: Select and invest in technology solutions that align with your data management objectives. Leverage cloud-based solutions for scalability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness.

7. Start with Pilot Projects: Begin with pilot projects or smaller-scale implementations to validate your data management approaches and learn from the process. These pilot projects allow you to identify challenges, make necessary adjustments, and gain insights before scaling up.

8. Continuously Monitor and Improve: Data management is an ongoing process. Continuously monitor the effectiveness of your data management practices, measure key performance indicators, and solicit feedback from users. Regularly review and refine your data management strategy to adapt to evolving business needs and technology advancements.

9. Establish Change Management Practices: Recognize that implementing data management is a significant organizational change. Develop change management strategies and programs to communicate the benefits, address concerns, and gain buy-in from stakeholders. Involve employees in the process, provide training, and create forums for knowledge sharing and collaboration.

10. Foster Data Literacy: Promote data literacy within your organization by providing training and education to employees. Enhance their understanding of data concepts, analytics techniques, and data management best practices. Encourage a data-driven culture and empower employees to leverage data for decision-making.

By following these suggestions, businesses can streamline the implementation of data management processes, enhance data governance, and maximize the value derived from their data assets.

How Sigma Can Help With Data Management

Sigma’s unique approach to analytics makes it easy for business users to quickly gain insights to key areas of operations and metrics, while adhering to an organization's security and governance models. Sigma’s fundamental value proposition aligns with today’s modern business needs:

• Sigma’s spreadsheet-like interface means users are comfortable, need less training, and user adoption is high.
• It connects instantly to your cloud data warehouse.
• It’s performant, even at massive data scale.
• Eliminates the need to export data; users can collaborate directly in a shared browser session.
• There’s nothing to install, Sigma works in any browser.

There are many other things that customers love about Sigma, but feel free to try it for yourself and see with a free trial or a live demo.