Driving Knowledge Belief, High quality, and Governance with Atlan
The Lively Metadata Pioneers sequence options Atlan clients who’ve accomplished an intensive analysis of the Lively Metadata Administration market. Paying ahead what you’ve discovered to the subsequent information chief is the true spirit of the Atlan group! So that they’re right here to share their hard-earned perspective on an evolving market, what makes up their trendy information stack, progressive use instances for metadata, and extra.
On this installment of the sequence, we meet Kenza Zanzouri, Technical Governance Professional at Contentsquare, a number one digital expertise analytics platform that gives wealthy context and insights into conduct, emotions, and intent at every touchpoint in a buyer journey for over 1.3 million web sites and purposes. Kenza shares the historical past of Knowledge Governance at Contentsquare, from its inception years in the past, to utilizing Atlan to assist each BI deliverable, drive enterprise possession, and enhance compliance.
This interview has been edited for brevity and readability.
Might you inform us a bit about your self, your background, and what drew you to Knowledge & Analytics?
I began working in information about 5 years in the past. Initially, I used to be learning Political Science, however I transitioned into Knowledge Transformation throughout my Grasp’s which was a manner for me to use what I discovered from internships in Authorized & Compliance. I took loads of lessons on Analytics and Enterprise Intelligence, and determined to simply accept an internship in Enterprise Intelligence within the luxurious style trade.
If you’re engaged on Enterprise Intelligence, you get to the touch a little bit of all the things about information, together with metadata and documentation, understanding how information flows and the techniques concerned, and structure. That’s once I realized that I didn’t actually like constructing deliverables for Enterprise Intelligence, however I did love all of the Knowledge Governance round it. It was an excellent alternative for somebody younger and junior within the trade to be taught, understanding individuals in each technical and enterprise groups.
Then, I used to be employed at Contentsquare to construct the Knowledge Governance staff. Again then, Knowledge Governance sat inside the BI staff, and that was a good way to incubate the perform, as a result of we had been already part of the staff that understood the enterprise. Our thought was that Knowledge Governance would at all times be cross-functional, and that we’d hyperlink collectively Knowledge Engineers, BI Analysts, and the enterprise models. I discovered quite a bit.
Not too long ago, Knowledge Governance has moved out of the BI staff and into the Data Programs Division (ISD), and that’s the place I stand right this moment. The job is wider in scope now, the place I don’t simply have a look at Knowledge Governance. We’re rebuilding loads of our techniques, so we’ve got to grasp structure, how information flows, who owns information, and information high quality.
I’ve spent virtually three years at Contentsquare as a Technical Governance Professional. I nonetheless take care of Knowledge Governance, and I nonetheless work very intently with the BI staff.
Might you describe Contentsquare?
As we speak, Contentsquare is a unicorn with the setting of a startup, with our foremost workplace in Paris, and our second-largest in New York. We’re a SaaS firm, and our foremost product helps our clients perceive their guests’ conduct on their web sites, and find out how they will enhance their buyer expertise.
We’re organized into completely different branches, after all, like Advertising and marketing, Partnerships, R&D, Product Technique, and Individuals. ISD, the place I sit, is underneath Finance.
Contentsquare has been round for practically 12 years, and over the previous months and years, we acquired two corporations, Heap and Hotjar. We’re merging these two entities into Contentsquare, and have rebuilt and restructured loads of our groups to make it possible for we’re promoting a greater product sooner or later. Exterior of merging in Heap and Hotjar, we’re engaged on constructing a single CRM and a single ERP, so there’s loads of rebuilding that’s taking place.
All of this rebuilding is a giant motive Knowledge Governance is so concerned, with everybody from the BI staff to our enterprise models, and all our individuals, whether or not they’re operational or excessive within the hierarchy, are concerned. It’s a good time for individuals to be right here, as a result of it’s very uncommon to witness a lot change in an organization, and it’s very uncommon to do it at this tempo.
Why seek for an Lively Metadata Administration answer? What was lacking?
I feel any firm, whether or not it’s in tech or not, understands that information is vital. You’ll want to perceive how nicely your online business is doing, and it’s worthwhile to function nicely, basically. However Contentsquare, like another firm and even once I labored in Retail Vogue, has struggled with a scarcity of belief in information.
Why? As a result of, when an organization is rising, you begin to purchase an increasing number of instruments, groups get larger, then they cut up. Individuals are likely to function of their silos and begin to generate information, then we don’t know what’s getting used and what’s not getting used. Exterior of that, you have got Enterprise Intelligence groups which might be intervening throughout departments to make it possible for no matter KPIs and deliverables they’ve are reliable and of excellent high quality.
Again then, we didn’t have an Data Programs Division, so that you had loads of techniques and lots of people who weren’t at all times working collectively, and no single, centralized house for data. So, two or three years in the past after we had been contemplating Atlan, we had some large questions round how the staff might ship dashboards, extractions, or KPIs, after we weren’t actually certain about our formulation, the place information was coming from, or who owned it.
There have been some instances the place there wasn’t an skilled to ask a few system, and the enterprise had purchased a product that didn’t get good adoption, however contained nice information. We wished to make use of that information, however weren’t certain what we had been utilizing or the place it got here from.
In order that’s the place Knowledge Governance got here in, and that’s once I arrived with my supervisor to construct our staff.
However inside Knowledge Governance, you want Lively Metadata, you want a method to drive possession, it’s worthwhile to perceive your information, and also you want a system to centralize all that work. That’s after we had discussions round what software we wished to make use of, and Atlan was among the best in the marketplace.
We wished one thing that might be utilized by anybody. It was essential to us that we didn’t use one thing too technical, as a result of the extra technical the software is, the much less probably it’s that the enterprise will use it, and that’s not the route we wished to take. We didn’t wish to assume that solely Knowledge Engineers and BI Analysts would use it.
We wanted one thing that will be user-friendly, would get nice adoption, and had an excellent Buyer Success and Assist staff. So, we had loads of demos again then, and selected Atlan as one of the best one.
Might you describe Contentsquare’s journey with Atlan, to date?
Again then, I feel we wished to implement Atlan too quick, which was good in some methods, however we weren’t able to get all 1,500 individuals at Contentsquare to undertake it. We wanted to have one thing beneficial in Atlan that individuals could be eager about so we’d keep away from pushback from our enterprise models.
So, our greatest staff for adoption was the BI staff, the place all of their deliverables are actually supported by Atlan. I consider that’s one of the simplest ways to get the enterprise to undertake. It may be exhausting for the enterprise to undertake a brand new software, but it surely’s a lot simpler once they have already got a manner of working with technical individuals, who’re already utilizing Atlan.
I feel our Knowledge Governance staff grew and advanced, and Atlan grew and advanced alongside us. There’s loads of change. Proper now, our precedence is rebuilding our structure and techniques and issues are in a little bit of a pause, however Atlan remains to be used for lots of foundational work. If there are new KPIs or updates to our reporting, we use Atlan.
What recommendation would you share together with your friends contemplating Atlan for Knowledge Governance?
Now that I’ve been within the firm for nearly three years, I do know our techniques by coronary heart, our information domains by coronary heart, I do know all people, and I do know the place we stand. I now perceive the enterprise doesn’t at all times know their information, and I feel we might have moved a bit slower in the beginning of our journey to essentially perceive what information and techniques had been getting used. It was all a bit extra sophisticated again then after we didn’t have an Data Programs Division.
There was loads of documentation and processes lacking again then, and we determined to skip some elements of that to leap straight into Knowledge Governance, after we might have spent a bit extra time understanding what we had and didn’t have, what we must always map, et cetera, earlier than serving to the enterprise alongside of their governance journey. That features Atlan and likewise Monte Carlo, the place techniques and information change and it may be powerful to make sure of what information high quality guidelines to make use of.
I feel the recommendation for myself, if I might return, could be to take extra time understanding the structure, the plan, and our information stack, and to spend extra time with the enterprise. Even when the product is nice, there are nonetheless individuals who can have a tough time stopping what they’re doing to rebuild and transfer ahead in a greater manner.
My second piece of recommendation, and I feel I’m a bit divided on this, but it surely’s to each “maintain the hand” of the enterprise models, and likewise attempt to make them extra accountable. As a result of we had been a brand new staff, Knowledge Governance was new, and we wished to do nice issues, we did an excessive amount of for the enterprise they usually had been anticipating quite a bit from me and the staff. So, they by no means felt accountable sufficient for his or her information.
To me, information is owned by the enterprise. The techniques could be owned by a central staff, however information should be owned by the enterprise, as a result of on the finish of the day, they’re liable for who ought to have entry to it, the way it ought to be delivered, what it’s used for, and the way in which it’s calculated. If you’re doing an excessive amount of “hand holding”, possession is difficult, and it’s going to be even slower to maneuver ahead.
Typically, I consider in taking it gradual. Knowledge Governance means a lot and nothing on the similar time. There’s quite a bit concerned, and also you’re higher off splitting the work and never attempting to do all of it on the similar time. You possibly can’t be working in your information, implementing a Knowledge Catalog, engaged on Knowledge High quality, and managing compliance all on the similar time. It’s not attainable.
Lastly, Compliance ought to be a giant precedence. I feel that is too simply put apart, when it ought to be one of many large arguments for why everybody ought to be utilizing an information catalog. I feel loads of corporations are likely to put that apart, considering they’re tech-savvy and that information is a website of experience, however tomorrow, in the event you’re audited, it’s going to be essential.
That’s one of many causes I attempt to push Knowledge Governance as a lot as attainable, not simply via the enterprise, however via something that’s associated to R&D and Product groups. Contentsquare did loads of work on this, and I’m very completely happy we’ve been capable of make individuals liable for Compliance in every division. We had Knowledge Compliance Ambassadors that labored straight with me and the authorized staff to work on that particular department of governance.
On the time, instruments like Atlan had been nice to have, as a result of it made issues simpler to start out someplace, to see our information, and to flag it. It’s one of many issues I’ve actually favored about Atlan.
Picture by Jason Goodman on Unsplash
