An asset manager’s Data Operating Model needs to support the various scalability, agility, and intelligence challenges that asset managers face.
Asset management industry leaders are empowering staff to respond to changes, adapt, and innovate. A cornerstone of their data strategy is democratizing data and providing self-service because the infamous “Waiting on IT” state needs to be minimized.
To foster a data culture with self-service, we have identified 6 key outcomes that a data operating model needs to achieve:
- Findable
- Accessible
- Supported
- Trusted
- Interoperable
- Reusable
We invented the term FASTIR so that it is easy to remember. Let’s drill into each outcome.
Findable
Asset managers typically ask, is my data easy to find and understand? Are people able to search to find what information is available? Is the metadata rich enough to highlight implementation nuances so that data is used and interpreted correctly?
Organizations can boost productivity, eliminate key-person risk, and support employee growth by offering a data catalog that explains what information is available. It should be detailed enough so that people use the data appropriately and correctly. A glossary of terms is also helpful so that people can avoid ambiguity by using a common business language. Its investment can offer a multiplicative effect to staff.
Accessible
Asset managers also ask, is my data easy to access with minimal barriers (such as authentication)? Do people need to collect data from multiple systems and waste significant time stitching data together? Is data wrangling overhead negatively impacting responsiveness, scalability, and agility?
Industry leaders strive for One Stop Shopping access to data. Modern architectures, such as a data lakehouse or data virtualization, can dramatically reduce data wrangling overhead to expedite data analysis.
Supported
Another concern asset managers have is if their data is supported. When there are questions about data, is it clear how to get them answered? Are inquiries directed to the appropriate Subject Matter Experts for timely resolutions? Is data evolving to meet ever-changing business needs?
Subject matter expertise tends to be scattered throughout an asset manager’s organization. As a result, organizations benefit from clarifying roles and responsibilities, establishing unified support protocols, communicating them throughout the organization, and measuring their effectiveness.
Trusted
Asset managers need to ask critically if there are trust issues with data. Is quality well-defined, measured, and enforced? When you ask multiple people the same question, are you getting consistent answers?
High-quality decisions require high-quality data. When data cannot be trusted, then one lacks the foundational confidence to trust their data-driven decisions. Asset managers profit from establishing a Single Source of Truth and instituting a Data Quality program because otherwise, it is “garbage in, garbage out!”
Interoperable
Asset managers question whether they can integrate data across data domains. Are they able to connect data from multiple sources to create an insightful, holistic view? For example, can IBOR data be reliably combined with CRM data, or can one connect CRM data with Third-Party data like Broker Data Packs?
Successful asset managers overcome data silos to create holistic views of information. They also value standards and conventions so that disparate data can be better integrated.
Reusable
Finally, asset managers need to assess whether their data is designed and documented to enable reuse across the organization. Do separate processes or duplicative solutions exist that risk producing inconsistent results?
Leading organizations manage data as a product for the benefit of the enterprise. Reusability is championed and evangelized to avoid inefficiency and redundancy that can lead to inconsistency. This can be applied beyond data, but also to downstream business logic and even report visuals.
Olmstead has deep expertise in developing and implementing data operating models for asset managers that yield desirable FASTIR outcomes. We want to be your transformation partner to help you drive FASTIR. Do you need help making your data FASTIR?