Defining, collecting, and connecting business and technical metadata is a multifaceted and tedious process.

Astrix recently hosted a roundtable discussion for senior executives of several leading pharmaceutical and biotech companies. In this first of two articles, we share their perspectives and practices for enhancing their organizations’ use of critical information via the production of data fabric.

One of the first points of agreement during the discussion was that to maximize the outcomes of data analysis, enterprise leaders must collaborate with their internal teams in determining the priority of what data and metadata are needed.  Our panel members agreed that this requires both ownership and leadership from a business perspective as well as support and resources that get the data right in the first place.

This is easier said than done, so let’s highlight four actionable insights from our panelists:

1. Upfront ownership is very important, so data stewards play a crucial role. With ownership comes responsibility for data quality, which is key for business data stewards whose roles are critical for maintaining the quality of the data that the business organization seeks to leverage. Ensure that your data quality stewards are empowered and authorized to monitor and act to preserve data quality.
2. IT and Business groups both need to support new ways of managing data. The journey starts with data-centric business behavior and thought leadership. This needs to be developed intentionally, with the objective of structuring both clear goals and rules.  Once these new goals and rules are finalized, they must be distributed to everyone involved in data production, collection, and storage management.
3. Assessment and tracking are twin engines of data quality. Since data quality is essential, processes must be completely in place to ensure accurate attribution and effective metadata tracking.
4. Enhancing metadata isn’t necessarily a technology stack or capability problem, but challenges to implementing a comprehensive data strategy and reliable data quality system must be fully addressed. To accomplish this, an enterprise needs the technological capability to support metadata management—which may require system augmentation.

Too often, the executive panel members agreed, the emphasis appears to be on loading data into systems, rather than properly focusing on:

• How the data will be used,
• Who the target users are—or will be,
• Who will steward the data, and
• What data products are destined to become.

Shifting the focus to address strategies for how data will be used and governed, after loading, will better support the organization’s needs for data use and reuse.

Summary

It is critically important, when looking to incorporate new emerging technologies like Data Fabric into your business, that you ensure you have the right external organizations involved who can assist you. Formulating the appropriate strategy along with the proper processes, and technology is imperative. Astrix’s team of professionals have worked with many of the top life science organizations to assist them with respect to their business needs in these areas. As a partner without a preconceived preference for a specific technology, we work closely with your team to ensure solutions are reviewed and incorporated into your business that will help you succeed.

About Astrix

Astrix is the unrivaled market-leader in creating & delivering innovative strategies, solutions, and people to the life science community.  Through world class people, process, and technology, Astrix works with clients to fundamentally improve business & scientific outcomes and the quality of life everywhere. Founded by scientists to solve the unique challenges of the life science community, Astrix offers a growing array of strategic, technical, and staffing services designed to deliver value to clients across their organizations.