“Data Conscious Culture” -Leaders must establish value-driven data use as part of company culture

Passau, 15 January 2025: Data has become a critical factor for business success. Yet many companies fail to realize its full potential because outdated structures and data silos prevent access to key information. To remain competitive, leaders must foster a company culture that drives data democratization. Dr. Andreas Böhm, CEO of One Data, explains how to make it happen.

Data is the key to success in modern enterprises. It not only fuels innovation and decision-making but also forms the foundation for efficiently utilizing forward-looking technologies such as AI, GenAI, business intelligence, and process mining. However, the true value of data only unfolds when it is high quality, accessible, and reusable – a challenge many companies still struggle with.

The concept of data democratization tackles this issue by breaking data out of isolated silos: employees gain full access to all relevant data, enabling better decisions and fostering innovation. But this approach often fails due to cultural resistance: teams hesitate to share data out of fear of losing control or introducing risks. Differing departmental priorities add further obstacles. Successful data democratization therefore requires a corresponding company culture – what we call a “Data Conscious Culture.”

Five key aspects must be considered to bring about this cultural shift:

1. The Right Mindset
Only leaders with the right mindset can initiate meaningful cultural transformation within their companies. According to a recent One Data study, only one-third (34 %) of C-level executives regularly work with business data. In fact, 22 % consider it irrelevant to their work – even though 81 % of IT decision-makers emphasize the importance of data for business success. To spark real cultural change, leaders must lead by example and internalize the value of data for their business. Only by actively working with data themselves and understanding its importance can they raise awareness company-wide and sustainably establish a Data Conscious Culture.

2. Leadership Accountability
To successfully democratize data, companies should designate an Enabled Owner – a leader responsible for the entire data value chain. One Data’s study shows that only 17 % of companies in Germany have a Chief Data Officer (CDO) fulfilling this role. The CDO is crucial: they ensure that data is available company-wide according to governance standards and create the necessary framework for high data quality. This role bridges the gap between technical teams who prepare the data and business users who leverage it for success. With this structure, all employees are empowered to make the most of data’s potential.

3. Breaking Down Silos and Creating Transparency
Often, data is scattered across different business units and difficult for many employees to access. To ensure that everyone can use the information they need, silos must be identified and broken down. Transparency is key: employees need to understand the importance and benefits of enterprise-wide data access. A Data Mesh architecture, for instance, can help by decentralizing data management and anchoring data ownership directly within teams. This dissolves silos, promotes cross-department collaboration, and helps companies respond more flexibly to changing market conditions.

4. Empowering Through Self-Help
To bring employees along on the journey, leaders must implement proactive skill management to align existing competencies with future demands. Training must be strategically planned and tailored to employees’ specific needs. Programs should focus on communicating the benefits of data sharing and clarifying each person’s role in collaborative data governance. Recognizing and rewarding individuals or teams contributing to such initiatives creates incentives and encourages long-term behavioral change. It’s crucial to view these efforts as part of a holistic, multi layered approach – because effective data use is a complex challenge requiring continuous learning and adaptability.

5. The Right Technology
To overcome data silos, companies need to implement the right tools – ones that enable intuitive interaction with data so that even employees without deep statistical knowledge can use it effectively. Data products, for example, provide easy access to actionable insights from raw data, empowering teams to make data-driven decisions. A “data marketplace” – a central access point for the shared use and exchange of data products – can further enhance collaboration and data accessibility.

Conclusion
Data is indispensable to a company’s success today – but to unlock its full potential, leaders must adapt company culture and drive data democratization. Building a Data Conscious Culture is a complex and long-term undertaking. It requires executive accountability, breaking down silos, a data-centric mindset, continuous training, and the right technologies. But to sustainably improve competitiveness and drive innovation in the local economy, the optimal use of data is essential. Cultural change doesn’t happen overnight – it must begin at the leadership level to gradually spread across the entire organization. Only then can the true value of data be realized.