Driving Knowledge Belief, High quality, and Governance with Atlan
The Energetic Metadata Pioneers sequence options Atlan prospects who’ve accomplished a radical analysis of the Energetic Metadata Administration market. Paying ahead what you’ve discovered to the following knowledge 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 fashionable knowledge stack, progressive use circumstances 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 habits, 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 help each BI deliverable, drive enterprise possession, and enhance compliance.
This interview has been edited for brevity and readability.
May you inform us a bit about your self, your background, and what drew you to Knowledge & Analytics?
I began working in knowledge about 5 years in the past. Initially, I used to be finding out 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 quite a lot of lessons on Analytics and Enterprise Intelligence, and determined to simply accept an internship in Enterprise Intelligence within the luxurious vogue trade.
Whenever you’re engaged on Enterprise Intelligence, you get to the touch a little bit of the whole lot about knowledge, together with metadata and documentation, understanding how knowledge flows and the programs concerned, and structure. That’s after 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 amazing alternative for somebody younger and junior within the trade to study, understanding individuals in each technical and enterprise groups.
Then, I used to be employed at Contentsquare to construct the Knowledge Governance group. Again then, Knowledge Governance sat inside the BI group, and that was a good way to incubate the operate, as a result of we have been already part of the group that understood the enterprise. Our concept was that Knowledge Governance would all the time be cross-functional, and that we might hyperlink collectively Knowledge Engineers, BI Analysts, and the enterprise models. I discovered lots.
Lately, Knowledge Governance has moved out of the BI group and into the Data Techniques 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 quite a lot of our programs, so now we have to grasp structure, how knowledge flows, who owns knowledge, and knowledge high quality.
I’ve spent nearly three years at Contentsquare as a Technical Governance Professional. I nonetheless take care of Knowledge Governance, and I nonetheless work very carefully with the BI group.
May you describe Contentsquare?
At this time, Contentsquare is a unicorn with the setting of a startup, with our principal workplace in Paris, and our second-largest in New York. We’re a SaaS firm, and our principal product helps our prospects perceive their guests’ habits on their web sites, and learn the way they’ll enhance their buyer expertise.
We’re organized into totally different branches, after all, like Advertising and marketing, Partnerships, R&D, Product Technique, and Folks. ISD, the place I sit, is beneath Finance.
Contentsquare has been round for almost 12 years, and over the previous months and years, we acquired two firms, Heap and Hotjar. We’re merging these two entities into Contentsquare, and have rebuilt and restructured quite a lot of our groups to guarantee that 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 quite a lot of rebuilding that’s occurring.
All of this rebuilding is an enormous motive Knowledge Governance is so concerned, with everybody from the BI group 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 Energetic Metadata Administration resolution? What was lacking?
I believe any firm, whether or not it’s in tech or not, understands that knowledge is necessary. You could perceive how nicely your small business is doing, and you could function nicely, usually. However Contentsquare, like another firm and even after I labored in Retail Vogue, has struggled with a scarcity of belief in knowledge.
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. Folks are inclined to function of their silos and begin to generate knowledge, then we don’t know what’s getting used and what’s not getting used. Exterior of that, you may have Enterprise Intelligence groups which are intervening throughout departments to guarantee that no matter KPIs and deliverables they’ve are reliable and of excellent high quality.
Again then, we didn’t have an Data Techniques Division, so that you had quite a lot of programs and lots of people who weren’t all the time working collectively, and no single, centralized area for data. So, two or three years in the past after we have been contemplating Atlan, we had some massive questions round how the group might ship dashboards, extractions, or KPIs, after we weren’t actually positive about our formulation, the place knowledge was coming from, or who owned it.
There have been some circumstances the place there wasn’t an professional to ask a couple of system, and the enterprise had purchased a product that didn’t get good adoption, however contained nice knowledge. We needed to make use of that knowledge, however weren’t positive what we have been utilizing or the place it got here from.
In order that’s the place Knowledge Governance got here in, and that’s after I arrived with my supervisor to construct our group.
However inside Knowledge Governance, you want Energetic Metadata, you want a strategy to drive possession, you could perceive your knowledge, and also you want a system to centralize all that work. That’s after we had discussions round what instrument we needed to make use of, and Atlan was the most effective in the marketplace.
We needed one thing that might be utilized by anybody. It was crucial to us that we didn’t use one thing too technical, as a result of the extra technical the instrument is, the much less seemingly it’s that the enterprise will use it, and that’s not the route we needed to take. We didn’t need 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 amazing Buyer Success and Assist group. So, we had quite a lot of demos again then, and selected Atlan as the perfect one.
May you describe Contentsquare’s journey with Atlan, to this point?
Again then, I believe we needed 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 priceless in Atlan that individuals can be all for so we might keep away from pushback from our enterprise models.
So, our greatest group for adoption was the BI group, the place all of their deliverables are actually supported by Atlan. I imagine that’s one of the simplest ways to get the enterprise to undertake. It may be laborious for the enterprise to undertake a brand new instrument, 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 believe our Knowledge Governance group grew and developed, and Atlan grew and developed alongside us. There’s quite a lot of change. Proper now, our precedence is rebuilding our structure and programs 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 programs by coronary heart, our knowledge domains by coronary heart, I do know all people, and I do know the place we stand. I now perceive the enterprise doesn’t all the time know their knowledge, and I believe we might have moved a bit slower firstly of our journey to essentially perceive what knowledge and programs have been getting used. It was all a bit extra difficult again then after we didn’t have an Data Techniques Division.
There was quite a lot of documentation and processes lacking again then, and we determined to skip some components of that to leap instantly 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 in addition Monte Carlo, the place programs and knowledge change and it may be powerful to make sure of what knowledge high quality guidelines to make use of.
I believe the recommendation for myself, if I might return, can be to take extra time understanding the structure, the plan, and our knowledge stack, and to spend extra time with the enterprise. Even when the product is nice, there are nonetheless individuals who could 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 believe I’m a bit divided on this, but it surely’s to each “maintain the hand” of the enterprise models, and in addition attempt to make them extra accountable. As a result of we have been a brand new group, Knowledge Governance was new, and we needed to do nice issues, we did an excessive amount of for the enterprise and so they have been anticipating lots from me and the group. So, they by no means felt accountable sufficient for his or her knowledge.
To me, knowledge is owned by the enterprise. The programs could be owned by a central group, however knowledge have to be owned by the enterprise, as a result of on the finish of the day, they’re accountable for who ought to have entry to it, the way it must be delivered, what it’s used for, and the best way it’s calculated. Whenever you’re doing an excessive amount of “hand holding”, possession is tough, and it’s going to be even slower to maneuver ahead.
Typically, I imagine in taking it sluggish. Knowledge Governance means a lot and nothing on the identical time. There’s lots concerned, and also you’re higher off splitting the work and never making an attempt to do all of it on the identical time. You’ll be able to’t be working in your knowledge, implementing a Knowledge Catalog, engaged on Knowledge High quality, and managing compliance all on the identical time. It’s not attainable.
Lastly, Compliance must be an enormous precedence. I believe that is too simply put apart, when it must be one of many massive arguments for why everybody must be utilizing an information catalog. I believe quite a lot of firms are inclined to put that apart, considering they’re tech-savvy and that knowledge is a site of experience, however tomorrow, for those who’re audited, it’s going to be crucial.
That’s one of many causes I attempt to push Knowledge Governance as a lot as attainable, not simply by the enterprise, however by something that’s associated to R&D and Product groups. Contentsquare did quite a lot of work on this, and I’m very completely happy we’ve been in a position to make individuals accountable for Compliance in every division. We had Knowledge Compliance Ambassadors that labored instantly with me and the authorized group to work on that particular department of governance.
On the time, instruments like Atlan have been nice to have, as a result of it made issues simpler to start out someplace, to see our knowledge, and to flag it. It’s one of many issues I’ve actually favored about Atlan.
Photograph by Jason Goodman on Unsplash