More than half of all data remains untagged and unclassified by Bob Violino via @infomgmt

A new study finds that companies have limited or no visibility over vast volumes of potentially business-critical data, creating a ripe target for hackers.

This is definitely an untapped resource within any company and exactly what an unstructured database would be good for was you start to investigate and sort out the format of the data and how to get sensible information from. You might find that with a little investment in the right resource it could become a valuable data source.

The future of consumer MDM: Cloud, referential matching and automation by Joaquim Neto via @infomgmt

This combination of these three features will put organisations on a good path towards realising real benefits from their master data management strategies.

A good article worth reading. I definitely think automation is the way to go because it ensures that MDM is done,  done properly and that you can match records across the organisation in such a may that there is only one one version of the truth.  One master version of something is often a very difficult thing to achieve in some organisations and that is something that we have to stop.

SLIDESHOW: 7 top challenges to working with data by David Weldon via @infomgmt

Data pros are dealing with a skyrocketing amount of data, created and gathered by ever-more devices. Here are the top challenges this is creating, according to a new study by Nexla.

From my own perspective these are a good list of pain points to the use of data. I would add to this  list:

1.. Data Sources - do you know the best place to get your data from - there could be better alternatives do get the data from.

2. System of Record - related to 1. make sure you understand where your data really comes from and if the data is clean and pure of has been altered in some way.

3. Change control - I've been using a systems data to feed in some of the data I was using, but they have missed it in their change control and I've suddenly had different or no data arrive.

4.  Data Management - are fields with the same name really the same?

Data mapping: A key challenge in achieving GDPR compliance by Laszlo Dellei via @infomgmt

With the 25 May compliance deadline now upon us, there is simply not enough time for manual mapping. There are, however, some alternatives organisations can turn to.

I used to do this as my day job and it's really interesting understanding the journey of data through and organisation, how it is used, what it is called everywhere (so many synonyms) and how it is changed as it is on that journey (text, number, decimal, number, etc). Then you need to work out where that documentation is going to be entered and who is going to have access to it.

Your data is worth nothing — unless you use it by Jennifer Belissent via @infomgmt

Insights-driven companies systematically use their data to deliver better customer experiences, improve operations, and create competitive differentiation — all of which adds to the bottom line.

Jennifer has it completely right - have clean data and then use it. Just be careful of synonyms for data elements (I've worked at an organisation with one data field with on the one hand had more than one name, also had the different names for the same data element and then to make it even worse there were different data elements with the same name. So be organised, have good data management, and use your data.

Understanding fast data and its importance in an IoT-driven world by Kayla Matthews via @infomgmt

Processing high volumes and continuous streams of information in real-time with low to medium latency, it is scalable, has a high uptime and can quickly recover from failure situations.

I think for me you have to have :

- Clean Data - it has to be good data that is not rubbish.
- Data Management - you have to understand exactly what you have and what it means. It has to have consistent definition and there must be some sort of validation to make sure it is correct.
- Process Consistency - your processes have to be consistent too so everyone works off the same thing.

Understanding the relationship between agile software development and Kanban by Anthony Coggine via @infomgmt

Kanban is not a paradigm in and of itself, but a way to manage projects, tasks and team planning. Projects are done just in time, on a rolling basis.

I'm going to repeat the very last paragraph in this article because it is so important and so clear - "Constant communication, assessment, and reorganization is necessary to complete high quality software projects. Increasing transparency, visibility, and cooperation among team members is the best way to facilitate software development."

I really think we should all print that section out in a large font and put it up where we work in order to make sure we remember it and try to stick to it.

Mastering change management to drive digital transformation by Elliott Hultgren via @infomgmt

When faced with the task of altering the entire technology infrastructure of an organisation, CIOs should adopt a mission-oriented mindset.

He makes some good points.  I would add that it is important to find a few quick wins for the new strategy to help you get the rest of the organisation on board.