Now, when I want to have a piece of information, I have it available in one place, and in real-time. I do not have to wait any longer for accountants and managers to find numbers, choose an approach to data, clean up, standardize, and summarize it. I just view it in one app - for every department and every number that matters.
It's like playing a strategic computer game without the fog of war. Having SSOT gives you the advantage of significantly reduced strategic ambiguity.
So what might be your main obstacles in achieving SSOT in the company?
1. People not adhering to the data standard you have set up.
2. The same data is gathered by different departments in different tools, which creates a data silo as people are creating new data collection points outside the setup you are building, like even simple sheets.
3. Poor data quality (inaccurate, outdated, inconsistent, or incomplete data) and lack of clear definitions of the specific metrics in the company.
4. Lack of a clear rhythm of inputting the data; for example, we need people to update Pipedrive daily, monthly forecasts are updated once a week, and rolling forecast for 12 months is provided only before quarterly workshops.
5. Lack of automation, which clearly makes data cleaner and helps clean up your company’s processes.
6. Lack of ownership for the data inputed to the SSOT.
7. Creating new processes detached from established standards, effecting with inputting data in different ways, or even worse, creating new data sources not connected to the main database.
As you can see, it's all about setting a clear standard and training people to adhere to it.
The profits for action in the realm of data compound over time. The cost of inaction grows every year.
This is just an intro to the SSOT concept, as the next posts will:
1. Show you our dataflow in XXII Ventures companies.
2. Give you examples of the information you can get from a well-set-up BI system.
3. Present you two proven approaches to implementing SSOT-based Operating Systems.
Make sure you won’t miss them by following me, and I'm open to any of your questions.