What is Data Democratization?
Simply put, data democratization is about making data available for everyone in a company to use. It’s a simple idea that offers profound benefits for a company, but one that still isn’t universally adopted.
Traditionally, access to data has been gatekept by the IT departments that collect and store it. From there, other business departments can request access to the data they need, but as you can see, this is far from a democratic process.
The goal of data democratization is therefore to unlock the full potential of the near-limitless amounts of data that companies now have access to. By removing barriers to data access, every department, team, and individual can achieve a truly data-driven approach to growth and innovation. That’s the promise of data democratization.
Data Democratization Through Technology
Making data available for all seems like a straightforward way to help decision-makers at every level to make more informed decisions, but what does data democratization mean for a business, if the average user can’t put that data to work?
To extract value from data, it must be accessible to the average user.
That means using integration tools to collect and structure data, empowering users to query and analyze it with minimal technical skills while still ensuring that data processes remain compliant.
- Data Integration Tools
The tools used to collect data are as diverse as the companies that use them. Even within a company, different departments may use different systems. The best data democratization tools allow a business to use its existing Extract, Transform, Load (ETL) tools while still offering seamless data integration into a single database. - Self-service Analytics
Once all the available data has been collected, structured, and integrated into a data warehouse, the next step is to empower users to query that data and develop valuable insights. AI-powered technology is taking data democratization to the next level by removing all technical barriers to data analysis. - Governance and Compliance Tools
Data governance protects the privacy, security, and integrity of company data. While strategies vary, some form of governance is typically mandated by internal policies or external compliance. Data democratization doesn’t mean blindly allowing access to all data. Rather, it involves comprehensive security measures to ensure that everyone has the data they need while still maintaining control of data access.
The Benefits & Challenges of Data Democratization
Data democratization offers significant benefits for businesses, but it doesn’t come without challenges.
Benefits
- Enhanced Decision-making — Trying to make the right decisions without supporting data is like working in the dark. Data democratization acts as a guiding light, enhancing decision-making and leading to more successful outcomes.
- Increased Innovation — By leveling the playing field, departments can work collaboratively to bring about greater innovation. Plus, with real-time access to the same dataset, staff can feel confident making out-of-the-box recommendations that are backed up by supporting data.
- Greater Agility — When data is gatekept by a select few, it inevitably creates a bottleneck, damaging a company’s ability to respond quickly to new trends. By democratizing data access, every department, team, and individual can act in real time.
Challenges
- Data Security and Privacy — Widening access to data comes with increased security concerns. That is why a process of data democratization should always be paired with enhanced data security and protection.
- Data Quality and Consistency — Providing wider data access is only beneficial when it is accurate, up-to-date, and consistent. Incorrect information leads to incorrect decision-making. Real-time data analytics is one way to ensure everyone always has access to the most relevant data.
- Cultural Shifts — Overcoming resistance towards open data access is actually one of the biggest roadblocks to the democratization of data. Concerns regarding security, privacy, and technological limitations need to be addressed but shouldn’t prevent progress. With the right data management solution, these challenges can be overcome.
- Scalability — As the volume of data and number of users increases, maintaining performance and scalability can be a challenge. Fortunately, there are several flexible deployment options designed to maximize scalability, including SaaS, cloud, or hybrid solutions.
- Technology and Infrastructure — Data democratization involves more than a cultural shift. Data warehouses, integration platforms, and analytical tools are all needed to maximize value. However, with investment comes potential, and EXASOL customers can realize a ROI of more than 300%.
The Future of Data Democratization
The future of business is driven by data. AI-powered data democratization will see large and complex databases, previously only accessible by technologically advanced users, made useable by everyone.
Advanced AI language models such as Veezoo are already making that future a reality by allowing users to query and analyze data in everyday language, much like Google or ChatGPT. Data-driven innovation becomes a reality every step of the way when even the average user can extract value from the near limitless data that modern-day companies hold.