In short, data enablement is all about making the most out of the data you have. This involves making it actionable, accessible and flexible. To establish a benchmark let’s review a couple of definitions:

The common threads between these definitions are: that you’re connecting people to the data they need and that this has a direct impact on your business outcomes. These are the core tenets of this discipline. 

When your data is enabled, it is structured in a way that makes it easy for people to access the data they need, across teams, departments and business units. This structure can come from a variety of rules and policies based on internal needs. The process of structuring your data to enable it involves consistently centralizing, validating, and classifying your data. 

One of the major requirements underlying data enablement is real-time updates when changes in your data have occurred. This is where the need for automation often surfaces. Keeping your data catalog up-to-date ensures that self-service data access is always available and accurate. Not only will employees have access to everything they need, but they can be confident that they can pull the freshest data at all times.

Some may be tempted to use these three terms interchangeably: Understandably, because they’re all ultimately about wrangling your data and making it work for your organization. However, there are several key differences.

Let’s look at three definitions side-by-side:

Data management is the overall practice of storing and making use of your data. It’s much broader, while data enablement and data governance have very specific desired outcomes. 

Data enablement and governance may see similar on the surface, but they are very different in practice. Both disciplines concern access to data, but governance is more about making decisions on compliance and access, as well as the technical considerations. Enablement can sometimes be seen as an extension this discipline that brings in a more strategic perspective. But it is also a distinct consideration. Enablement ensures that everyone who should have access to data does in an easy, timely, and efficient manner, and that the culture of data is created. 

In short, data enablement is a strategic discipline that can assist with the execution of data governance policies, and both of these disciplines function under the whole umbrella of data management. 

Now that we’ve got some clarity about what exactly data enablement is, let’s dive into why it’s such a crucial consideration for all firms that deal with data.

On the flip side, if you do invest, not only are you able to beat the competition, but you’ll likely uncover several additional benefits. 

Let’s first talk about the opportunity in overcoming the aforementioned risks:

Innovation in one place leads to innovation everywhere

Since data enablement breaks down your silos, when one team uncovers a solution or innovation, it’s easy to scale it to the rest of the organization. 

When all teams are working off of a central database -  but with a flexible, curated experience based on their needs - it becomes intuitive for that communication to happen. The distinct cultures between each department begin to blend, and a culture of collaboration begins to arise. 

Across teams, you can leverage victories and capabilities, and put your heads together to address issues or inefficiencies that pop up.

Risk Avoidance

One incredible benefit is that since the data is all normalized, there is no ambiguity about where data goes and what it means. Enabled data is accessible in a way that immediately contextualizes its use. 

This means that if one person goes on vacation or leaves the organization, teams don’t need to scramble to understand what all these random data points mean. The structure will already be in place, making it easy to hand off data wherever it’s needed.

Scalability

Although your data may be manageable now, as your organization grows, so too will the amount of data and the number of data sources.. Putting data enablement strategies in place now - even if your organization is currently small - will set you up for success no matter how much your data expands. 

Data enablement gives you a process for managing any amount of data. With the right tools, you will be able to take full advantage of your data, with little or no extra effort.

A Better Understanding of the Climate Around You

When your data is consolidated, uniform, and arranged in a way that’s easier to understand, it’s much simpler to see the full picture. 

Organizations that enable their data can identify rising trends, potential opportunities for growth, and steps in their operations that can be made more efficient.

Your data has always been used to inform this bigger picture. Data enablement simply gives you the tools and the strategies to reveal it and monitor it as it evolves.

The most important thing to keep in mind when deciding to invest in data enablement is that it is not a one-off project or a quick-fix initiative. It is a flexible and scalable discipline that requires a shift in your organizational thinking and processes. It will change the way you approach data and the way that you collaborate across teams.

Another concept to keep in mind is that data enablement is holistic. This is not an investment that will deliver results if it’s only adopted by a key number of teams or team members. It spans departments, and it spans disciplines. 

So let’s take a look at some of the best strategies to jumpstart data enablement at your organization.

On any team, there will be a wide range of savviness with data and technology. Your first line of defense should be leveling out any knowledge gaps to the best of your ability. 

When your organization adopts a new tool to enable your data, take the time to train each team on how to use that tool, and how the tool will fit into the organization as a whole. 

Don’t assume that everyone will naturally grasp every tool automatically. You’ll need to provide checkpoints to test their understanding. Training should be a continuous process, rather than a one-time meeting or course. While the initial training is crucial, making training assets and recordings available to reference later on, as well as offering ongoing, iterative training, will ensure that data enablement strategies stick. 

And when you find power users, leverage their knowledge to share best practices with the rest of the team. Creating an open forum for users of all skill levels to ask questions and share knowledge will make the adoption of new tools much more effective. 

This investment in training will empower every person on your team to make the most out of the data enablement tools in your stack and will ensure that no one will fail to utilize these tools for lack of knowledge.

Once your team understands how your data processes work, it’s important to instill the why in them. And the best way to do this is by creating a strong data culture.

If you’re serious about being a data-driven organization, every team should feel that. Take every opportunity to put your data on display by showing your team how you’re putting it into action. Encourage teams to share data and collaborate across departments. Measurement is the best motivation. If you can show exactly how this data is being used, and the outcomes associated with it, it makes the value tangible for your team members.

Incentivize teams by rewarding and highlighting those who uncover new data uses and solutions. 

Part of creating a data culture is just giving data and data action points a seat at the table in every discussion. Make it relevant to every single person, even those who would have previously thought managing or making data actionable wasn’t relevant to their role.

Of course, it’s much easier to get buy-in from your teams if you pick the best tools on the market. Here’s what to look for in a data enablement tool.

• User-friendliness - When a tool is easy and intuitive to use, your team is vastly more likely to adopt it. The shorter the learning curve, the better odds are that your team will become savvy and consistent users.
  
  
• Automation - This is where the bulk of the improvement in your team’s productivity will come from. The tools you select should be able to automate tedious and repetitive tasks to free your team members up for more important work. This automation could be entering data in one place and having it update everywhere, automatic notifications when certain goals are achieved, or auto-populating content with templates.
  
  
• Flexibility and customization - Since the goal of data enablement is to get the right data to the right people at the right time, your tool should be able to deliver an experience based on the key attributes of the user. This means that each user will have access to exactly the data they are meant to see at that moment. And most importantly, they will always have access to the most up-to-date information at that moment.