Industry executives and experts share their predictions for 2023. Read them in this 15th annual VMblog.com series exclusive.
What’s Next for Data Intelligence
By Satyen Sangani, CEO and Co-Founder, and John Wills, Field CTO, of Alation
Access to reliable data is vital to the success of any modern enterprise. While this is true in good times, well-governed data is arguably more powerful in challenging times.
As today’s economic downturn extends into 2023, data will further solidify itself as the enterprise’s strongest asset. Business leaders will need to leverage trusted data to deliver meaningful insights as they navigate mounting challenges as budgets compress and uncertainty grows. Next year, we’ll see more enterprises turn to data intelligence to strategically harness the power of their data.
Satyen Sangani CEO and co-founder of Alation, shares his thoughts on how enterprises will need to become data-driven to enhance decision-making and in turn achieve ROI in 2023.
The pendulum for data budgets will swing from innovation to ROI and value organizations
Over the past few years, companies in the data intelligence industry have delivered immeasurable innovation through platforms that help organizations prioritize data-driven decision-making. In 2023, the pendulum will swing from innovation to value as these organizations navigate economic uncertainty. Data-driven organizations will remain willing to invest in innovative technologies and platforms that effectively move the business forward. However, they will be more reluctant to make bets on early-stage startups. Companies in the data intelligence industry will be held to a higher standard and focus on delivering ROI and clear value – rather than speculative benefits.
Furthermore, John Wills, Field CTO of Alation, anticipates that data fabrics will continue to take centerstage as a function for enterprises to fully utilize the data they’re generating. He also predicts automation will play a key role in data reporting, compliance, and innovation.
Data fabrics will become more popular for businesses at the forefront of data management
As organizations work to break down data silos, many highly data-literate companies are turning to data fabrics as a way to utilize the data they have as optimally as possible. As these systems gain traction, we’re likely to see more data marketplaces within organizations, where users of all skill levels from departments across the organization can find and use data in a self-service, consumable manner.
Automation to become a key asset for governance and compliance in the U.S.
Much is made of the importance of organizing and utilizing data for innovation, but another critical reason organizations need to have a strong grasp of their data is reporting and compliance. While global organizations have been grappling with the patchwork of different data rules and regulations for some time, many organizations, particularly here in the U.S., haven’t had to take on these challenges just yet. This is beginning to change as many states are considering stronger privacy regulations and the U.S. Congress is working through the American Data Privacy and Protection Act (ADPPA). As the ramifications of these changes become clearer, organizations preparing for more stringent record-keeping and reporting will turn to AI-driven systems to help automate and streamline these processes.
Automation will offer data teams a way to balance defensive/offensive data operations
With recent high-profile cases of organizations being fined for data breaches, there was a risk that data teams may have become “spooked” into funneling efforts and funds into data regulation compliance and away from data innovation. While that may have happened in previous years, the balancing act between data compliance and data innovation could be about to become a lot easier in 2023 as data governance automation begins to take root. Data access and security controls have been automated for a while, but we expect data governance automation to blend existing automated operations with data governance policy making to free-up time for data teams to focus on business innovation without leaving the organization defenseless.
The bottom line: we’ll see subtle shifts that will further the maturity of the data intelligence industry. Staying on top of these trends will help your organization stay abreast of managing and taking full advantage of your data.
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Satyen is the CEO of Alation and a co-founder. In founding Alation, he aspired to help people dispassionately observe the world around them, empowering them to passionately work to improve it. Before Alation, Satyen spent nearly a decade at Oracle, where he ran the Financial Services Warehousing and Performance Management business. Prior to Oracle, Satyen was an associate with the private investment firm, Texas Pacific Group and an analyst with Morgan Stanley & Co. He holds a Master’s in economics from the University of Oxford and a Bachelor’s from Columbia University.
John Wills is the Field CTO at Alation. In this role, he focuses on strategic customer and partner advocacy, supporting strategic opportunities, and closely following industry trends to help craft corporate strategy and product priorities. Previously, John led Alation’s Solution Development and Professional Services organizations. He is also the primary author of Alation’s Book of Knowledge, an internal corpus of best practices for using Alation designed for customers. John has 30+ years of experience in data management with a number of startups and service providers.
