{"id":2220,"date":"2017-07-07T12:02:10","date_gmt":"2017-07-07T16:02:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/data-integration\/?p=2220"},"modified":"2018-01-11T16:42:43","modified_gmt":"2018-01-11T21:42:43","slug":"data-preparation-should-never-be-the-responsibility-of-business-users-alone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/data-integration\/data-preparation-should-never-be-the-responsibility-of-business-users-alone\/","title":{"rendered":"Data Preparation Should Never be the Responsibility of Business Users Alone"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Data<\/p>\n

By Lakshmi Randall<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h5>\n

Data preparation constitutes an iterative process of transforming data into a meaningful form to support analytics and decision making. Enterprises can choose from a variety of technologies and tools, used independently or in combination. Examples include data integration platforms that incorporate ETL or data virtualization, Excel or dedicated tools for data preparation, data discovery, and\/or self-service BI.<\/p>\n

Data preparation tools differ in the complexity of what\u00a0they can support. For example, some tools are well suited for light-weight data preparation like adding new calculations, measures, or KPIs. Other technologies are better suited for more complex needs, such as blending data from high-volume or highly disparate data sources, complex transformations, building multiple semantics based on the business department and the nature of the analyses.<\/p>\n

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In a survey recently conducted by BARC<\/a>, 49 percent of companies pointed to enhanced \u201c\u2026performance, agility and \ufb02exibility in business departments\u201d as the key business driver for data preparation in their organizations. Excluding traditional ETL technology, the objective of implementing business-user-oriented data preparation is to augment IT with business resources who are empowered to perform more of upstream data preparation. The increased agility and flexibility realized by business units would ideally contribute to a \u201ctangible business impact and increased competitiveness through analytics\u201d, a separate but seemingly related business driver identified by 47 percent of companies as the key driver for data preparation.<\/p>\n

Why Data Preparation Must be a Collaborative Effort between IT and Business<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Based on the results of BARC\u2019s survey, relatively few companies have implemented a collaborative approach to data preparation. When asked about their approach, 70 percent reported incorporating data preparation in their mainstream data processing with only 25 percent indicating that the technology is employed primarily as a collaborative effort between business users and IT. One out of four reported data preparation largely concentrated within IT and, predictably, only 9 percent of them have business users executing it\u00a0using formal control and standardization.<\/p>\n

Instead of working autonomously, effective collaboration between business and IT is the best strategy for overcoming potential challenges to realizing the benefits of employing data preparation methods and tools. The following are typical challenges faced by enterprises when considering a data preparation initiative:<\/p>\n