Preface

Microsoft pioneered data innovation and investments into the state of data ahead of many in the industry, leading to a distinctive and noteworthy advancement in data maturity. The book comprehensively explores every crucial facet of this journey and emphasizes that the wellspring of data-driven innovation is most often found with the data’s business owners—the individuals who depend on data daily for their operational needs. Empowering these professionals with clean, easily discoverable, and business-ready data marks a significant breakthrough in how data is perceived and utilized throughout an enterprise.

This book unveils the comprehensive journey of successful end-to-end data enablement—beyond mere technology, it encompasses change management, alignment with business needs, enhancing data value, and fostering a data-driven culture. The book guides you along the path of maturity and offers insights into where to channel efforts most effectively. It also establishes a connection with your organization’s own data enablement narrative. While many believe they face unique challenges, the reality is that data challenges tend to be strikingly similar across businesses. This enables the direct application of existing best practices. Such insights prove invaluable for business and data leaders, aiding them in advocating for essential data investments and competitive data and AI strategies.

This book adopts a storytelling approach to ensure a seamless reading journey, with essential insights summarized at the close of each chapter.

Moreover, the book is written by a data leader and practitioner with over 15 years of data experience at Microsoft, who has seen the company through numerous transformations and the reinvention of business and data processes to support ever-evolving organizational needs. This book covers how to foster the team spirit and one company approach that’s needed to drive data and business outcomes, emphasizing the power of having a data-driven culture.