Setting up a global outsourced data operation
As mentioned, our path to outsourcing started early. Actually, way too early.
The first attempt to scale and simplify local data work by transitioning to outsourcing was already in the works back in 2007. At that point, we only had isolated regional data teams, with very few common connections. The outsourcing direction was directed by corporate teams, selecting a major and renowned supplier to pick up the work. Ironically, I was on the supplier side, while at the same time co-leading early Data Quality (DQ) and data management work at Microsoft as part of another project.
We were motivated and energized but inexperienced and had a hard time tapping into business relevance. The local sales and marketing teams, who were mostly struggling with DQ and data issues, were totally happy with local on-site resources doing the work. Now, if this had been a couple of years prior to data office creation, we would have embraced the virtual global...
