Data democracy means everyone should have access to all of their organisation’s data all of the time. Right?

Wrong.

There’s a misconception that if you make all your data available to all users magic will happen. But you have to be careful.

Data can be complex. You need to understand the nuance of the data in order to avoid damaging assumptions and bad decisions.

If your company has masses of data there’s a risk of being overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information available, leading to the cliched but very real problem of ‘paralysis by analysis’.

Without controlled use of data, different teams can use data in different ways leading to inconsistent and contradictory results within the organisation.

There’s also data privacy and security issues to contend with. Organisations today need strong data governance and quality control regulations, particularly with customer data.

Data democracy can foster a more data-driven culture but it must be balanced with strong governance, clear guidelines and user training to minimise the risk of mishandling this precious asset.

See what some of our customers think about data democracy in this short video.