As data management consultants, we know the data management consulting sector is full of buzz words such as; big data, master data management strategy, ETL, data cleansing, real-time data, in-memory data, agile data and more. But with so much jargon floating around these days, it can be hard to understand what it all means – let alone tell which are simply fluff and which are actually useful!
WCI Data Management Solutions
Where does your data live? Do you know? Data is everywhere, in all shapes and sizes. The most common form of data in organizations is the unstructured type – this includes Word documents, Excel spreadsheets, email archives, and PDFs. Organizations also have structured data such as databases, XML files, database logs and SAP/Oracle ERP systems. Finally there is mixed-mode data – where structured data from various sources gets mixed together with other types of content (for example a word document with some metadata stored as XML). All these different forms of data are created to meet specific needs but they often get lost over time because they can be hard to find or difficult to understand their meaning. It’s important to realize that it’s not just the volume of information that can cause problems but how well it’s managed too. When business processes change then so do how records are accessed and created, which leads to an increase in duplicate records or new records being missed altogether. Data quality matters!
Successful projects on time and on budget
We’re a data management consulting company, and we know the data management consulting sector is full of buzz words such as; big data, master data management strategy, ETL, data cleansing, real-time data, in-memory data, agile data and more. But what does this all mean? What are these buzz words? How do they relate to our work with clients? We thought it would be helpful if we shared some of our thoughts on how we think about these terms.
What you should be looking for when hiring a data management consultant
When looking for a data management consultant, there are three things to keep in mind: experience, expertise, and your budget. You want to work with someone who has the right experience and skillset for your project. Data management consultants have many different skillsets which can include: data cleansing, ETL, master data management strategy and more. What’s most important is that you find someone with the specific skill-set that will best serve your needs. In addition to experience and expertise, make sure you consider the cost of hiring a consultant as well. Consultants typically charge by the hour or some might offer fixed rates depending on how complex the project is.
How to hire the best DMC for your company
It is important to look for a data management consultant who has experience in your industry. For example, if you are in the medical field, you will want to find a data management consultant with experience with Electronic Medical Records (EMRs). Not only should they have experience working with EMRs but also understanding the nuances of your industry and how this impacts the type of data being collected. Think about what kind of knowledge or information they need to understand in order to provide you with valuable insight.
