In an era where artificial intelligence is transforming industries, the critical role of data storytelling is more vital than ever.

Despite the heightened focus on data management, many data leaders still face significant challenges in securing the necessary funding and resources to organize their company’s data effectively. This struggle highlights the ongoing battle to bridge the gap between cutting-edge technology and practical implementation in today’s data-driven world.

According to Scott Taylor (pictured), The Data Whisperer and principal consultant at MetaMeta Consulting LLC, the key to transforming a company’s data management is crafting a narrative.

Scott Taylor, The Data Whisperer, discusses different methods of data storytelling.

“The work I do is really around the storytelling aspect of enterprise data management. How do you get the business side engaged? How do you get stakeholder involvement? How do you get the money for a lot of this data work?” he said. “And I focus on the classically unsexy stuff, like data management, data quality, data governance … all those foundational activities that have to be in place if you want to take advantage of anything else going on in the space.”

Taylor spoke with theCUBE Research’s Dave Vellante and Sanjeev Mohan at the CDOIQ Symposium, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed how business leaders can market their data storytelling.

The art of data storytelling

As The Data Whisperer, Taylor leverages his experience with data brands such as Nielsen, Dun & Bradstreet and Kantar. His aim is to help companies understand how data can support business goals.

“There’s two kinds of data storytelling out there, in my perspective. There’s the classic data storytelling … about analytics, how to take some insight or metric and put it into a context that drives some form of business action,” he said. “I felt, in the space, we need a story about why managing data is important. This data storytelling for data management is kind of the second type of data storytelling. And I encourage enterprises, you need both.”

In his book that Taylor markets as “99% Buzzword Free,” he emphasizes the marketing aspect over the technical, under-the-hood part of data management. By showing CEOs and CFOs the financial benefits of organizing their data, data leaders can unify their companies around a stronger data strategy, he argues.

“Why does your company exist? Forget about data. Go look for the business reason,” Taylor said. “A lot of companies want to be data-driven. They just have a hard time finding a place to park. Embracing data technically is important. But, to be data-driven, to be data-literate, to be data- informed, to be data-inspired, whatever that second word is, the business has to be engaged.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE Research’s coverage of the CDOIQ Symposium:

Photo: SiliconANGLE