Four steps to an enterprise data strategy
Explore the steps for creating a real-world data strategy that helps life sciences companies maximize their data investments.
Lou Brooks
Senior Vice President Data and Analytics, Life Sciences
Optum
Life sciences organizations find themselves trying to figure out the pieces of the puzzle when it comes to acquiring the right data, tools and analytics for their data strategy. The "Four Steps to a Real-World Data Enterprise Strategy" podcast series shares how to bring the pieces together to ensure you’re driving value from your data.
Step 1: Planning is Everything
The fundamental step in implementing a real-world data (RWD) or real-world evidence (RWE) strategy is planning — yet, it’s the step many organizations often overlook. Your end goal may be to become a data-driven organization, but what does that really mean?
What role do you see data playing in different areas of your business? How can you ensure your RWD doesn’t just provide incremental gains in specific use cases, but instead is flexible and scales to span the entire organization? Without a good plan, it’s difficult to determine the path forward when implementing the solutions most needed.
Listen to the episode below to learn more.
Data-driven? What does that even mean? Hear Lou break it down.
STEP 2: Set Your Data Free to Maximize its Full Potential
The value of data isn’t apparent when it's just sitting on a server. Its value is generated when organizations and individuals can access it, share it, and use it to conduct analysis and to generate insights. When acquiring any data asset, even internal data, it’s important to have agreements that allow its use across multiple areas of the enterprise.
Data is often siloed, which limits the value it can provide. Removing silos can be challenging, but democratizing data allows everyone to access it through a single repository, rather than creating multiple copies that can lead to inefficiency and errors during updates.
Listen to the episode below to learn more.
Breaking down data silos can free your teams to push innovation.
STEP 3:From 1s and 0s to Actionable Analytics
As we discussed in episode 2, data itself doesn't generate value sitting on a server — it's just 1s and 0s until someone works with it. A successful RWD strategy requires the right experts and analytics tools. Those experts can be internal data scientists or outside consultants — but they must have the background and skill set to mine data for actionable insights and leverage it for modeling and planning.
That analysis should also include different perspectives, including clinical outcomes, commercial operations and financial insights. When choosing analytics tools, begin by considering your organization’s business needs, including things like data warehousing, visualization, security and governance.
Listen to the episode below to learn more.
Without the right people and tools, data sitting on a server is just 1s and 0s.
STeP 4: The Flexibility to Be Nimble
The adage, “the only constant is change,” is certainly true for life sciences organizations. They must navigate between constantly market trends, regulatory updates and new opportunities coming from both the life sciences and health care industries. Your RWD strategy should have a certain level of flexibility to handle these changes in direction.
That flexibility revolves around three areas:
- Acquiring more or differentiated data
- Integrating data to address new questions
- Having the right resources to handle new demands
All three hinge on having the right data strategy framework and aligned partners so that you can move nimbly when the time comes.
Listen to the episode below to learn more.
Lou shares insight into the 3 key areas that will help you stay nimble.