Data Driven Business Transformation

Chapter 11Conclusion

We hope that throughout this book we have been able to share with you some of the passion we feel for taking care of our data properly and responsibly. Data‐driven business transformation is a growing concept, and is increasingly being talked about and viewed as the next big thing or ‘revolution’. What is interesting is that it isn't always the phrase ‘data‐driven business transformation’ that is used, sometimes it is wrapped up in the story of the 4th industrial revolution, or it is incorrectly referred to as ‘digital‐driven transformation’ and sometimes – perhaps causing the most misunderstanding – it is referred to as ‘digital transformation’. This last term causes the greatest confusion because it seems to imply that all that matters, or is required, is a ‘digital transformation’. It doesn't suggest or relate to any desired outcomes – such as business transformation. It implies a technology upgrade or modernisation as an ends in itself.

For us it always comes back to purpose, why are you trying to do something? Why are you trying to elicit a change? Data isn't there just for the sake of us all collecting more data, that in itself is not productive or useful. During the discussion in this book we have, we hope, made the case for how you can have data‐driven transformations, projects or programmes but that the overall goal has to be to have a data‐enabled organisation. A company that has governance and ethics built into how they treat their data can drive ...