Blog

Can you really build a cloud data platform in six weeks?

In short: yes, but no, but yes…sort of…it depends. For a better answer, let’s start by describing what we mean by a cloud data platform, as it can mean a few different things. Generally, it refers to a series of different components and resources deployed in the cloud to ingest, store, process, and report upon…

A data strategy is not a ‘strategy for data’ 

Most data strategies fail to make it from reading material to change accelerant. This means that they don’t create tangible outcomes. Worse, they fail to address gaps in understanding and expectation. Simply, they don’t achieve relevance. When this happens, data and analytics remain an isolated technical domain focused on core activities’ ‘numerical exhaust.’  Why does…

How to manage spiralling cloud costs

“81% of IT teams directed to reduce or halt cloud spending by C-suite” VentureBeats, 2022 “Organisations with little or no cloud cost optimisation plans end up overspending on cloud services by up to 70% without deriving the expected value from it”  Gartner, 2022 Big Tech under pressure from cost-conscious cloud customers (ft.com) The cost of…

What are the challenges of building a data platform?

Before we share our best thinking around data platform delivery, it’s worth shining a light on some of the challenges you can expect along the way so you can be well prepared. Introducing a modern data platform to the enterprise is not easy.  Challenge 1: Excessive Tech-Centric Focus  It’s easy to think of your Data…

What are the benefits of working with a data governance consultancy?

In this blog, Oakland’s Andrew Sharp talks to Terri Linnet Bickford, one of Oakland’s senior data governance consultants, about the advantages of working with an external provider. They talk about the benefits of having access to a team of experts, the value of a data governance maturity assessment, and the importance of culture in establishing…

Why do you need a data platform?

Before discussing the challenges and process of launching a data platform, let’s consider why you actually need it. At its simplest you need a ‘platform’ to help your audience find its data and the data find its audience. Most organisations that have a desire to get more from their data will at some point require…

What is a data platform?

Cloud-native platforms are an essential tool to help accelerate the execution of enterprises’ digitisation plans over the next 2-3 years. They are essential because improved access to cloud services enables the introduction of modern technologies with less operational burden than with legacy systems. They will expedite and facilitate the creation of innovative business solutions. Adopting…

Does Microsoft Purview solve the Data Governance Challenge?

Microsoft Purview Data Governance for the cloud, on-premise, multi-cloud and office 365 workloads. Introduction Most organisations are exploding with data that has been collected, transformed, and reported on, but this data is often not well-tracked as the organisation becomes more data-driven, increasing two pain problems that have been growing for the last few decades: How…

How to solve the leakage problem

You can’t have failed to escape the recent press surrounding the water industry and leakage (especially here in the UK. It is estimated that 3 billion litres escape through leakage every day in England and Wales (the equivalent of 1,180 Olympic-sized swimming pools). Tracking down three billion litres of lost water – BBC News In…

Taming your data assets with Databricks

Safely, securely, and efficiently handling data at any scale is challenging. Here at Oakland, we’ve had years of experience helping complex organisations tame their vast data assets to draw meaningful insights from them. These years of experience and the fact we are passionately tech-agnostic enable us to recommend the right tool for the job. One…

Data Mesh – Is this the evolutionary trigger to reinvigorate Data Governance?

Just over a month on from the crowds and excitement at Big Data London (BDL).  One of the key themes, which even had its own theatre was Data Mesh, and most of the two days were spent debating Data Mesh’s merits. While the first and second Data Mesh principles of “Data as a Product” and…

How to create a Data Strategy: Part 3 – Plan

So far in this series on data strategy creation, we’ve discussed the importance of data strategy discovery activities to establish a current state assessment and how to define the data capabilities required for your ideal future state. In this article, we’re going deeper into what’s required to build the roadmap for your data strategy.  We’re…