When workspaces were open and fully staffed, getting information or a problem solved might have involved a quick hallway conversation with a colleague or visualizing a solution on a conference room white board. Times have changed.

The closure of most office environments during the COVID-19 pandemic has altered the ways in which people collaborate, and this has also required that data be more readily available and properly curated. In many cases, businesses are turning to automated solutions for support.

“Data governance becomes a lot more important,” said Chris Eldredge (pictured), senior director of business intelligence at Paycor Inc. “If you’re giving up that control from a person to a machine, an algorithm or predictive model, you need to make sure the underlying foundation of data is correct. You need to make sure you put your resources that are people into making sure that data is as good as it can possibly be.”

Eldredge spoke with John Furrier, host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio, as part of the Informatica CLAIREview Series. They discussed Paycor’s work with Informatica LLC to implement a new data management solution, how that process was immediately tested by the pandemic, and the value an enhanced data system could offer in running a business. (* Disclosure below.)

Pipeline of quality data

Paycor, a provider of cloud-based software solutions for onboarding, human resources and payroll, embarked on a plan to modernize its data handling infrastructure in partnership with Informatica. Paycor employees were self-sourcing data, and when something went wrong they struggled to fix it, according to Eldredge.

“How do I get a production-grade pipeline of data into my environment so that I can really have what I need?” Eldredge asked. “We put in place standards, common metadata, a process that was aligned across the company. Once we knew what that blueprint looked like, Informatica helped by making it easy for us to pull data in from a variety of sources, all in the same way and managed the same way.”

It took less than a year to implement Informatica’s solution, but not long after it went into effect, the global pandemic suddenly changed the game for everyone.

“We had to quickly adapt our plan and go from monthly reporting into a daily environment,” Eldredge explained. “People wanted metrics every day. Luckily, we were able to set that platform right and we didn’t have to guess about where we were going to pull the data or what kind of things we needed to name it or where to put that data, so we knew how to report it.”

Paycor’s implementation of a new data-management process in concert with Informatica showed Eldredge the importance of gaining alignment within the organization so that stakeholders understood the value that a proper solution could bring.

“You have power, and that was the key, helping people understand the power of what they could unlock with their data and being ready to unleash that when it’s needed,” Eldredge said. “Most places that I’ve been, no one is ever happy with their data or reporting. Once you get people that are happy with it, all of a sudden that kind of explodes and everybody wants your time, everybody wants your attention, and everybody wants their data to be accessible as well.”

Watch the complete video interview as part of the Informatica CLAIREview Series below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s CUBE Conversations. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the Informatica CLAIREview Series. Neither Informatica LLC, the sponsor of theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE