Infotec 2019

'The Modern Data and Analytics Platform' -- that mythical creature that eats raw data and spits out gold. Everyone wants one, and everywhere you look, companies are making significant investments in time and money to try and get their hands on one.

Yet even with their buzzword status, the reality is that most BI, Data Analytics, and Data Science initiatives are still considered failures by the organizations that sponsor them. Why is this? The requirement for significant organizational change, rare and in-demand technical skillsets, and a shockingly complex and rapidly shifting technical landscape are certainly contributing factors, but what can we DO about it?

You've seen this scenario before: a lack of business and technical alignment causes a cascade of expensive technical pivots, missed deadlines, stressed developers, development backtracking, and further breakdowns in communication. Add to this the intangible nature of data and the magnitude of business expense for data initiatives, and this cycle can quickly spiral out of control.

Is there a better strategy for data strategy? I believe there is. In this talk, I draw on experience gained and lessons learned while designing and implementing a wide variety of data platforms to present a philosophy and actionable strategies that business leaders and technologists can use to make their next data initiative an extraordinary success.