Design a Data and

Analytics Strategy
Advance your organization’s strategy
by communicating the business value
of data and analytics

Edited by
Andrew White, Distinguished VP Analyst, Gartner

© 2019 Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. PR_581843
Introduction
Digital business success hinges on modern and By reading this e-book, data and analytics (D&A) leaders
effective data and analytics. Although organizations and other executives will understand the importance of
creating a clear, modern and business-relevant data and
are beginning to understand the business value analytics strategy communicated across the entire
of data and analytics, taking the first steps toward organization and can begin to decide the best approach
integrating data literacy into the business can be for their own organizations.
intimidating. But organizations that fail to properly Will the team use data to enable the business to meet its
utilize data assets will be left behind. goals more effectively? Build a new P&L product line based
on data assets? Simply do nothing?

(Spoiler alert: Don’t do nothing.)

As part of the strategy discussion, leaders must decide how
to ensure data literacy, data and analytics governance, and
data quality. Data teams may speak data fluently, but other
parts of the business may struggle to understand. Be a good
teacher and a good partner, and watch your data and analytics
strategy flourish.

Design a Data and Analytics Strategy 2

Why data? Why now?
A student majoring in physics at any university is likely to be analytics to guide 55,000 advisory meetings with students
required to take a foundational math course such as freshman annually has contributed to the university increasing its
algebra before going on to more advanced studies. Even if a graduation rates by seven percentage points and closing
student receives a C for the class, most universities consider a the socioeconomic gap that exists for graduation rates at
passing grade good enough to move to the next level. many other institutions.

Georgia State University realized that data like this could The truth is that data and analytics are complicated, but the
be used to flag potential problems before they develop results can be powerful. For a university, it’s higher graduation
into larger issues that would prevent student graduation. rates. For a business, the results could be increased profit, a
The university uses predictive analytics with over 800 alerts new product or an entirely new business model.
and 10 years of data to help identify current students who
are at risk of not graduating, including those who receive A successful initiative requires a cultural and mindset shift
grades in early classes that may indicate they will have by which data and analytics moves from supportive and
trouble progressing in a chosen academic track without secondary to fundamental for digital business transformation.
additional help. It becomes central to how organizations do what they do,
every day, every time.
Once at-risk students are identified, they are required to meet
with advisors to discuss potential solutions, such as taking a But it’s worth it.
remedial math class or considering a different major. Using

Design a Data and Analytics Strategy 3

“The potential for data-driven business strategies and
information products is greater than ever,” says Andrew Data for good
White, Distinguished VP Analyst, Gartner.
In 2007, the then-CEO of Nationwide
For some enterprises, data and analytics has become a Insurance discovered the low high school
primary driver of their business. graduation rates in his hometown of
Columbus, OH. The company’s data and
These businesses make data a part of everything they do, analytics experts donated their time to
which means they ask the right questions: provide data that measured proficiencies
“With this data, or this type of insight, how can we and identified an early warning for
fundamentally change the value propositions for struggling students. This pro bono project
our customers?” was so successful that it was spun off into
its own nonprofit.
“How can we deliver new value propositions?”

“How does the business process and response

change given this new insight?”

Answering these questions, or even knowing to ask these

questions, is the result of an expanded set of data and
analytics competencies and the embracing of data literacy
across the organization. It’s not only for traditional business
outcomes, either.

Design a Data and Analytics Strategy 4

 Focus on the strategy
“Data and analytics success over competitors requires a A data and analytics strategy is what emerges when an
much more expansive role for data and analytics in business organization connects a vision with outcomes and a value
value generation,” says White. proposition.

Organizations need to get smarter at understanding what Start with a common understanding of the mission of the
outcomes can be improved, and what investment across organization. From there, prioritize which business outcomes
data and analytics drives those outcomes. It might be matter the most, and use that priority list to target a data
an investment in data quality, or artificial intelligence, or and analytics strategy. Remember to focus on delivering
data virtualization or other options. business goals.

A clear strategy, which also considers data quality, data Generally, three kinds of trajectories can be used for looking
governance and data literacy, is vital to the success of a at a data and analytics strategy. They tend to focus on:
data and analytics investment.
• D
 &A as a utility — A generic capability. It should be available
to everybody for myriad requirements and for all kinds of
intended business value.
“Data and analytics success over
• D
 &A as an enabler — Always targeted toward a specific
competitors requires a much more
business goal. Secondary value should come from reusing
expansive role for data and analytics the data and analytics for other business purposes.
in business value generation.”
• D&A as a driver — A means to achieve new business goals.
New tools can uncover new insights, and new data types
can lead to new business questions; both drive new business
ideas and revenue sources.

Design a Data and Analytics Strategy 5

 Although an ideal data and analytics strategy utilizes all
Why you need a CDO three, most companies use data and analytics as an enabler.
There are no right or wrong choices — it depends on the
How can you make a business case for
organization. Establish the business value and match it with
a chief data officer (CDO)? Explain what
the core business strategy of the company for the best data
they do:
and analytics approach. The most common options are:
• Assure regulatory compliance
• O
 perational excellence — Bring value through cost
• Manage and exploit information assets
focus. Outsmart competitors with a superior grip on
• A
 pply data and analytics to drive both business processes.
cost-optimization and revenue objectives
• P
 roduct innovation — Seek value by creating the most
• Reduce uncertainty and risk
desired products (or innovative business model) on the
CDOs can help organizations gain market. Margins are sustained by premium pricing for
competitive advantage over peers technologically advanced or fashionable products/services.
and manage data and analytics as
principal assets. • C
 ustomer intimacy — Show superior knowledge about
customers and the ability to move quickly despite not
having the best or cheapest products. These offers are
always well-fitted to the moment.

• R
 isk management — Create business value and
differentiation by being able to mitigate risks in business
that others can’t.

Design a Data and Analytics Strategy 6

13 Approaches to D&A Strategy

D&A Approaches by Value Proposition

Core Business Strategy

Utility Enabler Driver

Operational Excellence 1. Always on 2. D&A hub 3. Integrated value chain

Customer Intimacy 4. D&A as a service 5. 360-degree view 6. Personal analytics

Product Innovation 7. Self-service 8. Feedback 9. D&A products

Risk Management 10. Compliance 11. Risk mitigation 12. Risk leadership

13. Do nothing

Source: Gartner

Design a Data and Analytics Strategy 7

13 Approaches to D&A Strategy Breakdown

1. Always on 2. D&A hub 3. Integrated value chain

Uses data and analytics as an “always on” set Uses data and requires a measurable return for Creates a completely integrated information
of capabilities that doesn’t require a specific a business; generally centers around business value chain, with data and analytics used
set of predefined business capabilities. cost, time and quality optimization. throughout the chain.

4. D&A as a service 5. 360-degree view 6. Personal analytics

Collects as much customer data as possible Uses data to create a solid understanding Shares data with customers that enables them
within legal boundaries to use for cross-selling, of customer needs with context for better to improve their lives versus for the benefit of
upselling and deep-selling. selling opportunities. the enterprise to create loyalty.

7. Self-service 8. Feedback 9. D&A products

Uses data and analytics as a tool to support Uses data and analytics to enable new business Uses data and analytics to drive new business,
customers, enabling customer service to models such as predictive asset maintenance. making data a product in and of itself. Success
become self-service and the business to focus is measured by the percentage of revenue
on innovation. attributed to data.

10. Compliance 11. Risk mitigation 12. Risk leadership

Aims to use data for compliance reporting and Uses data to mitigate risks and select business Uses data to more accurately assess risks
to minimize related costs. opportunities based on investment/return. versus companies not using data, enabling new
business opportunities.

13. Do nothing (Not recommended)

Fails to recognize the value of data and analytics, either unconsciously or as a purposeful business decision.
This results in fragmented data and a generally undesirable state.

The key to success is to explicitly share the plan with stakeholders. There is a risk to assuming that
everyone shares your view of whether data is a utility, an enabler or a driver. Data and analytics leaders
must gain explicit agreement on the plan and create a strategy that works for the organization.

Design a Data and Analytics Strategy 8

Data literacy
Data literacy is a growing challenge for most organizations. By The challenge is that, in most organizations, business people
2020, 80% of organizations will initiate deliberate competency might not understand the importance of how data and
development in the field of data literacy, acknowledging their analytics supports their work, and similarly, data and analytics
extreme deficiency. professionals might not have sufficient understanding of the
business context of their work.

Data and analytics are increasingly valuable assets to

Data literacy is organizations, which means that all employees need to be
“the ability to read, write and able to understand and utilize the information relevant to their
communicate data in context, including role, at the moments that matter most. In a digital society,
an understanding of data sources and data is as important as the classic business drivers of “people,
constructs, analytical methods and process and technology.” Information must become like a
techniques applied, and the ability to second language.
describe the use-case application and
resulting value.”

Design a Data and Analytics Strategy 9

How can data and analytics leaders establish “information
as a second language”? Data for good
First, establish a base vocabulary across the business The Community Technology Alliance
beginning with key elements such as “value,” “information” (CTA), founded in 1991 to develop
and “analytics.” Then, identify areas of data literacy strength data-driven solutions to poverty
and where barriers are affecting communication. and homelessness, is charged with
coordinating data collection and
For a proof of concept, select one of the areas of business cleansing.
that needs improvement but also demonstrates an openness
to change. This information is put into dashboards
to help understand the needs of the
Finally, change how you and your team communicate with the homeless and to coordinate and provide
rest of the business. Set a good example by speaking data in care across multiple agencies.
meetings as it relates to business opportunities and value.
In 2015, with support from the Tableau
Foundation and Interworks, CTA launched
a data fellows program to develop data
leads tasked with using data to tell a story
about homelessness in their cities.

Design a Data and Analytics Strategy 10

Data and analytics
governance
Data and analytics governance, or data governance for short,
means managing data to ensure usability, availability, privacy,
3. Tailor the stewardship model (for business users) to
data-type characteristics. Analyze the characteristics
security quality and other factors that can greatly impact how of the data, such as business value and volume, to
valuable the data, analytics or algorithm is to the business. determine the appropriate data stewardship model.

Implement these 10 key factors to ensure successful data

governance initiatives:
4. Establish clear procedures to guide project interaction
with data governance bodies. Outlining that interaction
to include timely knowledge exchange of project details
1. Clearly identify the prioritized business outcomes for
ensures that data concerns are addressed consistently
which you need to govern the associated data.
across projects and improves data solution quality.
Clearly scope the data governance mandate and
objectives based on these outcomes. Clarity of purpose 5. Involve the business in data stewardship roles and
tasks. Data is a business asset and needs to be
will provide the focus for applying scarce resources to
managed as such by business owners. Ensure business
the most important governance activities.
representation on stewardship boards.

2. Apply varying degrees of governance policy (there are

8) depending on the data asset involved and outcome
supported. Prioritize the highest level of rigor on the
data assets with the highest impact or business value
and broadest enterprise use.

Design a Data and Analytics Strategy 11

6. Target similar data users when initiating data 9. Prioritize data quality improvement based on the
standardization efforts. Identify cohorts of like-minded data’s quality gap relative to its importance to
data users to establish consensus on data definitions the organization. Highlight data quality concerns
and standards. from multiple user perspectives and in varying
contexts to ensure the right data is targeted for
7. Take an opportunistic approach to data standardization quality improvement.
and standards — don’t make this the focus. Pursue
opportunities for data standardization and integration 10. Track progress toward data maturity goals. Define
highlighted by events in the business environment, such a specific set of maturity milestone indicators
as a merger or new senior executive, that would trigger and monitor overall progress across data domains
new information requirements and needs. toward them.

8. Formalize the promotion of master data management

(MDM) and application data management (ADM)
standards and principles. Use a structured forum
with a well-defined scope to define and advocate
for enterprisewide MDM and local or regional ADM
implementation solutions and reuse.

Design a Data and Analytics Strategy 12

Data quality and trust
Organizations are beginning to realize the financial Through 2020, 80% of organizations will not reap the full
impact that poor data quality and trust can have. In 2018, benefits of their data quality investments because less than
organizations estimated poor data quality alone cost them 20% of organizations will have formal data quality metrics
each an average of $11.8 million per year. in place.

In 2018, organizations estimated Data for good

poor data quality alone cost them each Mastercard shared anonymized data
an average of $11.8 million per year. with New York University to check on the
success of its redevelopment projects,
smart city initiatives and programs to
“Poor trust in data and data quality undermines digital reduce greenhouse gases.
initiatives and contributes to ineffective decision making,
weakened competitive standing and customer distrust,”
says Melody Chien, Senior Director Analyst, Gartner.

Design a Data and Analytics Strategy 13

Organizations generally face three challenges when it comes To counter these challenges, organizations should create
to data quality: metrics that measure the value of high-quality data as
well as the cost of low-quality data; position staff with
1. Nearly 57% of organizations fail to measure the annual data-quality skills across the business, including areas
cost of poor-quality data. They struggle to quantify where low-quality data is costing money; and establish
the impact of poor quality and define exactly what is an effective data governance framework.
poor-quality data.

2. Organizations that recognize the cost and impact

of poor-quality data often find no clear way to fix
the problem.

3. Organizations spend an average of $261,000

for on-premises tools, but only 23% utilize more
cost-effective options such as cloud-based or
hybrid-cloud-based deployment models. The
cost of data quality tools remains a challenge.

Design a Data and Analytics Strategy 14

Additional research and articles

Why data? Why now? Data quality and trust

Build a Data-Driven Enterprise How to Overcome the Top Four Data Quality
Mike Rollings, Andrew White (August 2018) Practice Challenges
Melody Chien, Saul Judah (October 2018)
Focus on the strategy
Start Your Data and Analytics Strategy With a Clear Sidebars:
Value Proposition Use Data for Social Good
Frank Buytendijk, Saul Judah, Mike Rollings, Michael Moran Cindi Howson (August 2018)
(November 2018) How to Use Data for Good to Impact Society
Cindi Howson, Lydia Clougherty Jones, Carlie Idoine,
Data literacy
Mark Beyer (June 2018)
Information as a Second Language: Enabling Data Literacy
for Digital Society Write a Winning Business Case for a Chief Data Officer
Valerie Logan (September 2018) Debra Logan, Joe Bugajski (August 2018)

Data and analytics governance

Data Governance Step-by-Step Guide
CEB Research (Refreshed December 2018)

Design a Data and Analytics Strategy 15

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© 2019 Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. PR_581843