VIDEO | Experian Consumer Services, CDO: Data Enablement Is the Pot of Gold at the End of the Rainbow

(US and Canada) Ali Khan, Chief Data Officer at Experian Consumer Services, speaks with Michael C. Fillios, Founder and CEO of IT Ally, about data governance in an SMB, precautions to be considered, data security, data quality, and Scholastic's cloud journey.

Regarding data governance, Khan thinks that it is just a question of scale. The data-related activities are similar, regardless of size. It starts with cataloging data, which answers the whereabouts of data. Then comes the access factor, which decides who has access to data and is implementing it. The third part is data enablement, which he believes is the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. After understanding the data through cataloging and having the right people accessing it, data enablement means the data is used for benefit.

He believes that the process holds for Experian as well as for an SMB. Khan further suggests that SMBs should think before adopting data governance tools as they go through a cycle of bundling and unbundling within the data management ecosystem.

Khan states that companies can buy data catalogs and other open-source tools while being cautious about adding more features and raising expenses. He says that with small and medium-sized businesses, it is crucial to understand the type of adoption they want without spending more than what is needed. With additional tools, an SMB would also incur the operational cost of a heavy system without having the right kind of adoption needed.

He highlights the security aspect of data by affirming Experian as a data security company. It has a breach detection and advisory division, which advises the world's largest security-conscious companies on data breaches. With services like dark web monitoring, Khan ensures that Experian is uncompromising when it comes to data security.

Next, addressing data quality, he describes it as an ongoing challenge and something that is never done right. Khan prefers a realistic approach when it comes to data quality by setting data boundaries and expectations. Understanding the available data and building its value while keeping in mind its sensitivity and assigning ownership, is the key to achieving data quality, he says.

Regarding Scholastic, Khan states that cloud providers now have strengthened data security with data governance.That, according to Khan, was the first challenge, and the breakthrough was in realizing that security posture could be improved by doing cloud right. He mentions that educational psychologists there were skeptical of machine learning due to the lack of well-trained models in the past. However, acceptance came with the understanding of the level of outcome that could be generated through machine learning.

On an ending note, Khan advises data enthusiasts and future data engineers to be curious and tenacious. When he asks his teammates about what inspired their interest in data and what excites them, the answer is often “Curiosity.”

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• Experian Consumer Services, Chief Data Officer: Cataloging Is The Starting Point Of Data Governance