Data Democratization

Introduction

Data democratisation is the process through which a company teaches all employees and stakeholders how to work with it, It makes data available to them regardless of their technical experience.

Simply put, the “data” in “data democratisation” refers to any information you may be able to discover about your business or organisation. Everyone can use it, from the administrative assistant organizing a manager’s birthday party to the engineer looking into new prospective product features. Data is everywhere, and it has the power to make every aspect of a company more efficient. It can be straightforward (email addresses of your present clients) or complicated (how many employees in the accounting department have completed a specific training module within the past two weeks).

Five data democratisation pillars

Why Data democratization is important?

Data democratisation is the process of granting everyone access to data without the use of gatekeepers who might otherwise slow data flow. The objective is for anybody to use data at any moment to make judgments without comprehension or access restrictions. It is essential to give people immediate access to the data and an easy way to comprehend it. They can utilise it to accelerate decision-making and spot possibilities for a company.

Data democratization refers to the spread of data access to all people without the presence of gatekeepers who would otherwise slow down data flow. It is essential to give people immediate access to the data and an easy way to comprehend it. They can utilise it to accelerate decision-making and spot possibilities for a company. The goal is enabling anybody to use data at any time to make decisions without constraints on comprehension or access.

According to proponents of data democratisation, information must be shared across all functional teams in order to have a competitive advantage. Data democratization, in the opinion of many specialists, is a game-changer. When you give employees at all levels of your organization access to data, it gives them the power to use information in decision-making at every level of ownership and responsibility. Your firm will be able to recognize and act on crucial business insights if more individuals with a variety of skills have rapid and easy access to the data.

Worries about the democratization of data

Some businesses are concerned that non-technical staff may interpret the data incorrectly. They may make poor judgments because of their incorrect interpretation of the data. Furthermore, the threat to data security grows.. Keeping data integrity becomes more difficult as the number of  users who have access to the data increases.. Despite the  tremendous advances, certain data continues to reside in silos, making it difficult for employees working in various departments to access and view it. The duplication of labour across numerous teams, is another issue with data democratisation.

Demystifying data is an evolution

It is essential that companies that democratise data have a strong governance framework in place. This ensures that the information is treated with care. Everyone in the company has to receive comprehensive training on how to use data to best support projects and advancement. Data democratisation will be an ongoing process, with the benefits gradually becoming more apparent as more non-technical users gain knowledge.

Pros and Cons of Data Democratization

Pros

• Improved cooperation.
• Data is more trustworthy
• Saved time
• Cash saved
• More decision-making based on data.

Cons

Data democratization does create certain questions about data ethics, data misuse, and compliance, even though it is ultimately more advantageous than not. The main issues with data democratization are as follows:

• Possibility of data misuse
• Fears about data security
• Compliance issues.