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How Irish organisations can win with a robust data trust strategy

A trusted intelligence approach embeds trust into data on its journey to value creation. The framework can help identify priority areas.


In brief

  • Bridging data trust gaps is important as trusted data allows organisations to take the value-first approach.
  • Trusted intelligence can help organisations build on access controls and secure technologies.
  • Organisations need to reuse data to reinvent businesses processes. This can be done only if data is verified and there is an effective data management strategy.

When intelligent technologies lead the way, trust can be the true disruptor. As Ireland shifted its focus towards intelligent enterprises in the post-COVID-19 phase, data privacy and trust concerns grew, especially amid growing cybersecurity risks. In the past year and a half, organisations have increasingly felt the need for an effective data strategy that not just supports pandemic propelled business models but delivers value as well.

Gap in data trust can take away the competitive advantage of organisations. True value of data lies in trust and intelligence. Trusted data is secure and ethical and allows organisations to take the value-first approach. Data trust deficit can stymie innovation, curb growth and ruin transformation initiatives. Risks grow as businesses look to reinvent, but so do opportunities. Organisations that have a clear value proposition and the capability to embed trust can become intelligent enterprises.

Pivoting from data first to value first

Traditional big data strategies are passé. Intelligent enterprises must gravitate towards value. For the massive volume of data used by intelligent technologies such as AI and RPA to flow through the organisation, what is really needed is a framework of human governance. If the data going in is not right, the outcomes will not be either. People are needed to align data-powered intelligence with an organisation’s values and to adhere to social, regulatory, ethical, legal, and business standards.

So, what does a trusted intelligence approach do? It embeds trust into data on its journey to value creation. With trusted intelligence, Irish organisations can:

  1. Define from the outset the reliability and quality of the targeted data
  2. Design trust through frameworks and operating models in a consistent manner
  3. Build on access controls and secure technologies

“Trust is not something you can bolt on. It has to be designed into data and intelligent technologies from the outset,” said Marco Vernocchi, EY Global Chief Data Officer.

A traditional one size fits all approach to data and information governance cannot deliver the value, scale and speed that the current market demands. EY’s trusted intelligence framework can help identify the priority areas and propose a tailored approach for individual organisation. An adaptive and flexible framework enables data leaders to select different solutions such as compliant data polices, high quality data, secure data access, efficient data infrastructure or a library of reusable data assets to accelerate the development of new data solutions.

Trust once embedded throughout the enterprise can ensure accuracy of data, thereby infusing confidence and making way for innovation at scale. This, in turn, can provide sustainable and long-term value creation. It is imperative to put people at the centre for data trust to be generated and for value to be created for everyone connected to the organisation.

Converting risk into trust

The Irish Government has said in its recently published national AI strategy¹ that artificial intelligence is not a technology of the future, it is a technology of the present. The vision is to put Ireland at the frontier of a people-centred, responsible, and ethical rollout of AI. To harness the full potential of AI and other new age technologies, Irish organisations need to bridge gaps in value desired and value provided from the outset.

Organisations often need to reuse data to reinvent businesses processes and models. This can be done only if data is secure, verified and there is an effective data management strategy. Data stewardship is the first step in the direction of having that effective data management strategy in place.

The defining model for trusted intelligence is the intelligent value chain. This explores the elements that must be in balance and that can work together for trust to create value: business models, intelligent technologies, data, and advanced technology platforms. For organisations, the benefit is being able to use and reuse data safely, giving confidence to do more through democratised access to intelligent data. 

To gain competitive advantage, Irish organisations need to understand the implications of data, lean more on privacy enhancing techniques and embed trust across the value chain. Data-powered intelligence that can be trusted by regulators, customers, and markets can help drive innovation at speed.


Summary

An adaptive and flexible trusted intelligence framework helps data leaders select different solutions such as compliant data polices, high quality data, secure data access, efficient data infrastructure or a library of reusable data assets to fast track the development of new data solutions.

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