Dmitry Tyomkin is one of the many high-caliber IT Executives who will be facilitating a group discussion at NCS Madison’s 2020 Chicago Chief Data Officer Strategy Meeting on January 14, 2020.
Dmitry is an accomplished business and technology executive with over two decades of rich, diverse experience in various fields, including Software, Financial Services, Telecom, Retail and Biotech. He is knowledgeable in Blockchain, Big Data, AI/ML, Cloud and Web Development technologies, he is currently leading the Systems Integration function in the Cat Digital division of Caterpillar. Dmitry previously spent 2.5 years at Citadel, a Chicago based hedge fund, supervising processes and operations (Data Governance, Data Ops, Alternative Data Set Provisioning) within the CDO department. In conjunction with this effort, he contributed to several startups in blockchain and real estate crowdfunding spaces. Earlier he served in various business, consulting and technology leadership roles. Dmitry holds an Executive MBA degree with honors from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Dmitry will be leading our discussion group on Creating a Data-Driven Culture in Chicago, continue reading for a preview of his upcoming session.
“The transition to a data-driven enterprise is similar to the shift to the web: one day every company will get there and the pioneers would benefit enormously..”
Why is creating a data-driven culture important to the success of an organization?
We face ongoing acceleration in both the amount of data organizations collect daily and the intrinsic value/criticality of enterprise data. Given this trend, data-driven culture is a must for the firms to keep control over their data, ensure up-to-the-minute updates of strategic KPIs and, ultimately, stay competitive. A data-driven culture is also recognized as a pre-requisite for success in digital transformation efforts that many companies prioritize nowadays.
What do you feel are the potential risks of implementing a data-driven culture in an organization? The rewards?
I outlined primary rewards in the previous answer, I can add that data-driven culture would also deliver savings in terms of a higher quality of the knowledge that informs critical decisions, in turn leading to lower costs of mistakes. As far as risks, there aren’t many, if the shift to a data-driven culture is done systematically, with the firm’s strategic goals in mind. However, if the company keeps making tactical moves and is not clear on the “why” behind the transformation initiative, the move towards data-driven culture may stall and lead to a lot of wasteful confusion.
What systems and practices have you used in the past to make data accessible across your organization?
One basic practice is to make Data Governance a prominent element of the overall Corporate Governance. This would inform all the next steps as the linkage to enterprise goals would make it possible. On the practical side, the primary tool for data accessibility is certainly a fully searchable Data Catalog. It needs to be carefully designed with enterprise security being a foremost concern: the data needs to be guarded as diligently as actual trade secrets. Another best practice is to standardize on data access APIs so that you are always in control of not only what is accessed but also how it is accessed. And of course, a powerful access logging and tracking system need to be in place from Day 1.
What example(s) can you give of a successful transition to a data-driven enterprise?
Among industries pushing towards data-driven culture, healthcare and financial services have been at the forefront. Alina Health and others in the field realized quality knowledge leads to quality outcomes, while Citadel Financial and similar investment banks have been riding industry shift towards data-driven insights.
What changes do you suggest an organization that is transitioning to a more data-driven culture make to their business plan?
Upon becoming data-driven, an organization should anticipate that most business initiatives would enjoy a faster time to market (given less waste during implementation and higher visibility into business KPIs). Additionally, once the data is pervasive and trustworthy, new revenue opportunities may arise (from selling the data to data aggregators, for instance).
What is the most effective way to keep stakeholders and employees informed about the transition to a more data-driven culture?
Companies would be well advised to prioritize data portions of the projects as high as the user interface: both can make or break a successful application rollout but data mistakes are harder to rectify. I also found hackathons and other competitive events to be really effective in both raising awareness and generating new leads.
What is one thing you would like the attendees of your discussion group to leave knowing?
The transition to a data-driven enterprise is similar to the shift to the web: one day every company will get there and the pioneers would benefit enormously.
Why have you decided to join us at the 2020 Chicago CDO Strategy Meeting?
I liked the conversational nature of the meetings, as opposed to the conference or panel format. I also appreciated the venue’s dual focus on the quality and diversity of the participating professionals.
Register for one of our upcoming 2020 Strategy Meetings now to participate in thought-provoking discussion groups such as this one.