A business strategy cannot succeed unless the data supporting the strategy is fit for purpose.
That's the view of Jon Stangroom, information governance manager at utility company British Gas.
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Stangroom, who was speaking on the panel of Computing's data governance web seminar in association with Experian, said that his firm is going through a data migration process that has been planned for the last three years, which has placed a new focus on data quality and management.
"Last year we implemented data governance, but the actual need for practical data management is about getting off the line and getting that accountability and getting a positive change, and data quality is a big part of that," he said.
"Our business strategy has changed as the migration has taken place, and it won't succeed unless our data is fit for purpose," he added.
In the past, British Gas operated an in-house data strategy for certain teams, primarily the sales department. However, Stangroom explained that the role of data has changed as its use is a lot more operational and it now impacts a large proportion of the business.
He stated that the firm went from having limited internal communication with IS (its Information Services department), meaning that IS didn't understand what was needed as it had no business input. This has been rectified to ensure that the company can get a single view of the truth and work together for a common purpose.
"We've now got a three-year roadmap with IS to say where we want to be, it is good to discover the common interests [within the business]," he said.
Stangroom explained that there were different elements that were affected by the changes in the firm's data strategy.
"In terms of online experience, if someone is coming to fix the customer's boiler, we want [the employee] to have the right data with them, so we're doing a lot of work to make sure they get it on a handheld device, and keeping everything in order in-house in case the regulator [Ofgem] has questions," he said.
Janani Dumbleton, data quality propositions manager at Experian, praised the emphasis placed on data quality at British Gas.
"In a world where many businesses are still struggling with reactive responses to poor data quality and trying to get their heads around how to approach data governance, it is refreshing to see an organisation like British Gas proactively looking at data as a strategic asset and putting good data quality at the heart of their data governance initiative," she said.
"Particularly impressive is that British Gas have already achieved an enviable position of data quality, their continued drive to strive for data excellence, bringing together business and IT in one common goal; data-driven business excellence. This can only help British Gas differentiate themselves in a very competitive market place," Dumbleton concluded.