Getting the message across

It’s not so very long ago that I began belabouring organisations from the conference platform, urging them to give serious consideration to the concept of a strategic approach to data. Way back then (2002 actually), the only organisations that had implemented such a thing were the top 40 per cent of the largest CRM pioneers. This kind of statistic acts as a huge motivator to data zealot like me and I’ve been riding my hobby horse up and down the country on the back of it. But now some new research is out and it seems the news is getting better, which means that pretty soon I shall need to look for another axe to grind.

The research in question, Data Quality – a shift in perceptions published by QAS, indicates that an amazing two thirds of organizations now have some sort of strategy for their data. This is good news indeed, even if I shall soon be redundant. Only a third left to go at now.

At last the mundane common sense of planning for data, learning how best to capture, control and use it and recognising the positive and negative impact it can have is actually becoming almost, well, common. Congratulations must go to all those dedicated individuals with heads of iron (needed for banging against boardroom walls), who have shown passion and commitment to data quality and to the profitability of their organisations. They have had the courage to take on the inert, bean-counting, jobsworthy mentality that, frankly, is rife within such bodies. Having heard so many of their tales of corporate obduracy, ignorance, mismanagement and penny-pinching over the years I have to salute them for their triumph in the face of adversity. They and their newly enlightened businesses assuredly will reap the benefits.

Great news indeed. Now, how can we help the rest of you?

Sarah Denner Brown, Independent Consultant, SDB Talking Direct