The world revolves around the work of unsung heroes. Sure, some people get their share of the limelight and the admiration of their employers and peers. But, every day, most people go about their job, doing the best that they can – and do so in relative anonymity.
Unfortunately, the people that manage an organization's data are prime examples of unsung heroes. The process of corralling, cleaning and archiving data doesn't excite many people. But think about a world where nobody cared about data. Would we have an accurate picture of customers or products? Could we generate accurate reports to show the health of the organization? Would the applications that drive every business transaction work properly? The answers are "No, no and no."
That's why we started Data Stewards Day in 2011. After talking to hundreds, if not thousands, of people who do some form of data stewardship, we realized that although they probably had different titles, these people all had something in common. They cared about data. And with more and more information hitting companies every year, that was no small thing. You absolutely need people who care about data.
Actually, data stewards do more than care about data. They know how to do something about it. If you talk to a data steward, you can see them connecting the dots between business and IT. This is the magic of being a data steward. They know why the change needs to happen to a data source, and can tell you how to make it work. Many of us know one or the other. Very few know both.
Do you know of a good data steward? Someone who goes the extra mile to create and maintain useful information? Somebody who can "pull a rabbit out of a hat" and turn data disasters into data triumphs? This is your chance to celebrate their work by nominating them for "Data Steward of the Year."
Simply go to the Data Stewards Day site and nominate the data steward who makes your life easier. Or improved your business. Or figured out a way to turn chaos into order. After a panel of data governance experts reviews the nominations, we will announce the Data Steward of the Year – and the winner of the coveted Stewie – at the Data Governance Winter Conference on November 19, 2013.
Get your entries in before Data Stewards Day vanishes!
