What is Data Friction?
Any impediments or inefficiencies that prevent a company's data from flowing freely are referred to as data friction. Technical problems like mismatched systems, poor data quality, or ineffective data management techniques like manual data input, a lack of automation, or insufficient data storage and retrieval techniques are just a few examples of the many various ways that these barriers might appear.
Organizational impediments, such as siloed data, when data is divided into many departments or systems and is challenging to access and exchange, may also cause data friction. Making strategic choices based on the whole picture might be difficult without a full perspective of the organization's data.
Businesses may have severe effects from data friction, including lost opportunities, wasted time and resources, increased risk of data breaches or compliance violations, and poor decision-making as a result of erroneous or incomplete data.
Why is Data Friction a Challenge?
Due to the exponential expansion in the amount, variety, and velocity of data being created today, data friction is a major barrier for organizations. In fact, it is predicted that the amount of data produced worldwide would increase to 175 zettabytes by 2025 from 33 zettabytes in 2018. Organizations must have a reliable method for managing and using the massive amounts of data that are created and processed in order to advance their company.
Data friction, on the other hand, prevents firms from fully using their data assets, making it challenging to derive insights, spot patterns, and come to wise conclusions. As a result, firms may lose out on opportunities, take on more risk, and waste resources while trying to make sense of their data.
What are the Causes of Data Friction?
Data friction has a number of reasons, including:
- Incompatible Systems: To handle their data, organizations often use a variety of technologies, some of which may not be interoperable. This may make data transmission across systems challenging and lead to data duplication, mistakes, and inconsistencies.
- Poor Data Quality: For organizations, data that is unreliable, lacking, or inconsistent may present serious problems. Inaccurate insights, lost opportunities, and higher risk may all result from poor data quality.
- Inefficient Data Management Practices: Data friction may be caused by manual data input, a lack of automation, and poor data storage and retrieval procedures. These procedures may take a lot of time and be prone to mistakes, wasting resources and producing false data.
- Siloed Data: Data that has been divided across many systems or departments may be difficult to access. A fragmented picture of the organization's data may come from this, making it difficult to see patterns, opportunities, or possible problems.
How to Overcome Data Friction?
Implementing a data governance framework, engaging in data quality management, tearing down data silos, standardizing data management procedures, adopting automation, investing in data integration, and educating staff are all necessary components of a comprehensive approach to overcoming data friction.
- Implementing a Data Governance Framework: A data governance framework offers a thorough method for handling data management inside of a business. It outlines duties and responsibilities for staff members engaged in data operations as well as rules, processes, and standards for handling data. Organizations may guarantee that data is handled consistently and effectively, lowering the risk of mistakes and squandered resources, by putting in place a data governance structure.
- Investing in Data Quality Management: Establishing procedures for tracking, evaluating, and enhancing data quality inside an organization is known as data quality management. Organizations may increase the correctness and dependability of their data by putting data quality management at the top of the priority list, lowering the risk of making bad decisions and wasting resources.
- Breaking down Data Silos: Organizations may get a more comprehensive understanding of their company, making it simpler to see patterns, opportunities, and possible problems, by destroying data silos and making sure that data is available across all systems and departments. In order to guarantee that data is shared and available, this necessitates a collaborative approach to data management, where many departments and systems work together.
- Standardizing Data Management Practices: Data quality and dependability may be increased by standardizing data management processes, including data input methods, data storage formats, and data retrieval techniques. Additionally, standardization makes it simpler to combine data from many systems and sources, increasing the effectiveness of data operations.
- Embracing Automation: Data processes may be streamlined by automation, necessitating less human data entering and processing. Automation may also assist in finding data flaws and inconsistencies, decreasing the likelihood of making mistakes and wasting resources.
- Investing in Data Integration: Bringing together data from many sources and platforms may provide firms a more complete picture of their operations. In order to ensure that the data is correct, consistent, and accessible, it is necessary to have tools and technologies that can extract, convert, and load data from various systems.
- Training Employees: Last but not least, teaching staff members the best methods for managing data may assist guarantee that it is handled consistently and effectively. Training on data input techniques, data quality control, data governance, and other data-related subjects are included in this.
Benefits of Overcoming Data Friction
Organizations may acquire a more complete understanding of their company, make better choices, and gain a competitive edge in the digital economy by lowering data friction and enhancing the efficiency and efficacy of their data operations. Overcoming data friction has a number of distinct advantages, including:
- Improved Decision-Making: Organizations may make better judgments by ensuring that data is accurate, dependable, and accessible, which lowers the possibility of making bad decisions and missing out on opportunities.
- Increased Efficiency: Organizations may increase productivity and use less time and resources by optimizing data operations and minimizing manual data input and processing.
- Reduced Risk: Organizations may decrease the risk of mistakes, inconsistencies, and compliance violations, as well as the risk of financial loss, by strengthening data quality management and data governance.
- Improved Customer Experience: Organizations may provide a more individualized and seamless customer experience, increasing customer happiness and loyalty, by acquiring a more thorough understanding of consumer data.
- Competitive Advantage: Organizations may acquire a competitive edge in the digital economy and stimulate innovation and development by better using their data assets.