Adrian Estala, VP and Field Chief Data Officer at Starburst, is a guru in digital transformation and data mesh strategies. He discusses the modern data stack's agility and sustainability, emphasizing the need for collaboration between data and business teams. Adrian highlights the significance of 'data products' for enhancing decision-making and user engagement. He also dives into the role of metadata in improving data quality and trust. Finally, he addresses the evolving skill sets required for data practitioners to navigate this complex landscape.
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Quick takeaways
Adrian Estala emphasizes the necessity for CDOs to align their objectives with business needs, addressing high turnover and complexity challenges.
The modern data stack must evolve towards agility and sustainability rather than just adhering to ever-changing technological standards and trends.
Creating data products with clear metadata and ownership enhances data quality, accountability, and usability across various business teams for effective decision-making.
Deep dives
The Role of Chief Data Officers
Chief Data Officers (CDOs) face significant challenges, including high turnover rates, making it essential for them to align their objectives more closely with business needs. The disconnect between what CDOs focus on and what businesses require has prompted calls for a new toolkit to navigate these complexities effectively. Adrian Estala emphasizes the importance of understanding the modern data landscape, advocating for agility, sustainability, compliance, performance, and efficiency in data management. The evolving expectations of CDOs highlight the urgent need for collaboration between data experts and business leaders to create meaningful data solutions.
Defining a Modern Data Stack
The concept of a modern data stack is evolving, and it may be more appropriate to refer to it as an agile and sustainable data stack. Adrian Estala argues against the perception of 'modern' as an ever-changing standard and suggests a focus on creating an adaptable and efficient data infrastructure. Organizations should tailor their data stacks according to their specific circumstances, such as whether they are on-premises or cloud-based. This framework should prioritize responding effectively to evolving business needs rather than chasing the latest technologies.
Agility in Data Management
Agility in data management is crucial for both business and engineering perspectives. Businesses should be equipped to request and utilize various data sets rapidly, meeting their immediate needs without being hindered by existing processes. From an engineering viewpoint, agility means being able to reconfigure and repurpose data solutions quickly in response to new requests, focusing on reusable models and building blocks. This approach encourages innovation and efficiency and fosters collaborative discussions between business and technical teams, making data more accessible and impactful.
The Power of Data Products
Data products represent a transformative way to streamline how businesses interact with their data. Adrian Estala explains that creating a data product is analogous to providing a medication in a pharmacy: easily identifiable and with clear usage instructions. By defining data products with precise metadata and user-friendly descriptions, organizations empower business teams to select the data they need for various analyses without reinventing the wheel. This reduces redundant efforts and promotes a culture of reusability, where one data product can serve multiple teams with different analytical needs.
The Importance of Data Quality and Ownership
Maintaining high data quality is essential for effective decision-making and relies on establishing clear ownership of data products. By designating product owners who are intimately familiar with their data's specifics, organizations can ensure accountability and the prompt resolution of quality issues. This innovative approach contrasts the historical practice of disparate teams attempting to fix data independently, leading to a lack of consistency. With a focus on collaboration and ownership, data products can significantly enhance data trustworthiness, ultimately streamlining business operations.
Businesses are constantly racing to stay ahead by adopting the latest data tools and AI technologies. But with so many options and buzzwords, it’s easy to get lost in the excitement without knowing whether these tools truly serve your business. How can you ensure that your data stack is not only modern but sustainable and agile enough to adapt to changing needs? What does it take to build data products that deliver real value to your teams while driving innovation?
Adrian Estala is VP, Field Chief Data Officer and the host of Starburst TV. With a background in leading Digital and IT Portfolio Transformations, he understands the value of creating executive frameworks that focus on material business outcomes. Skilled with getting the most out of data-driven investments, Adrian is your trusted adviser to navigating complex data environments and integrating a Data Mesh strategy in your organization.
In the episode, Richie and Adrian explore the modern data stack, agility in data, collaboration between business and data teams, data products and differing ways of building them, data discovery and metadata, data quality, career skills for data practitioners and much more.