CDO Matters Ep. 08 | Be More Social & Less Technical with Dr. Juan Sequeda

When it comes to leading a successful business, it is crucial to remain data-driven. But being overly technical in your approach can often take away from the social needs of your enterprise. Malcolm and Dr. Juan Sequeda focus primarily on four key topics: data as a product, the data mesh phenomenon, why data leaders are incorrectly focused on technology and how taking a more ‘social’ approach — as advocated by the data mesh — will deliver superior results. Dr. Sequeda breaks down data-related technologies into three core principles that he argues have changed little over the last several decades. CDOs with more of a business or non-technical background will appreciate how Dr. Sequeda is able to distill the complexities of the modern data estate into a simplified model — and warns how various data management vendors continue to complicate by focusing too much on software tools and features. While exploring ways for data leaders to extricate themselves from technology-first approaches, the two explore the growing trend towards data as a product and how CDOs can benefit from it. Dr. Sequeda shares his ‘ABC’ framework for approaching data as a product that CDOs from all backgrounds can quickly use within their data organizations. Dr. Sequeda both challenges and acknowledges the benefits of data centralization during a discussion focused on how master data management (MDM) is still needed by all organizations despite the decentralized approach advocated by the data mesh. Ultimately, it should be no surprise that a noted scholar on knowledge graphs believes that context and semantics should drive more modern approaches to governance and MDM — where the context or use case of data ultimately determines what rules/policies should be defined rather than the data itself. This episode of CDO Matters will help less technical CDOs understand the underlying data ‘semantics and why the data mesh — most especially the ‘data as a product’ phenomenon — is worthy of consideration. Prioritizing efforts to integrate product management disciplines in data management — at both centralized and decentralized levels — will ultimately help data leaders to drive superior results by being more driven socially.