Data Lake, Data Mesh, Data Warehouse, Datamart... Behind these technical concepts lies a major strategic challenge: transforming data into a performance driver. In the Place aux experts video podcast, Samia Boujatioui, the Group Head of Data Management, explains how well-governed data can create value for our clients and our business teams. Here are some extracts.
Why Coface has designed its own virtual Data Lake
Faced with the complexity (or even overlap) of information systems, data virtualisation is now one of the solutions favoured by businesses to make the most of their data and exploit it effectively. The aim: to be able to access an overview of the company's various data sources in real time, without having to replicate them in a repository. A technological solution that combines the manageability of data (particularly commercial data) with operational flexibility.
Coface's virtual Data Lake, which facilitates fully autonomous access to data for business users, is a hybrid solution combining standard BI architecture and data virtualisation. This tool simplifies and centralises the governance, accessibility and security of data shared within the company.
We started with a simple, practical use case: to create a sample virtual Data Warehouse (a structured, modelled data warehouse) with contractual data. The principle is to collect, cleanse, model and make Coface data available to end-users with a Datamart concept (a data counter organised according to business use or areas of activity, fed by the Data Warehouse). Our solution is based on a Data Mesh approach: the aim is not just to centralise and organise the data, but also to engage the internal teams and empower the end users
explains Samia Boujatioui, the Group's head of data management.
When Data Governance generates value
What if Data Governance was no longer a brake on innovation but rather a lever for creating value? At Coface, data is a strategic asset that creates value for our customers. "We are a global leading player that manages the clients’ commercial risks, in particular through trade credit insurance, business information and debt collection solutions. And all our expertise and services are based precisely on the collection, analysis and exploitation of 80 years of commercial credit data", explains Samia Boujatioui.
Today, Data Governance enables the entire data lifecycle to be managed: this covers not only the collection of data, but also its organisation, analysis, quality and compliance with current regulations. The aim is to protect data while simplifying its use.
Without appropriate governance, Data Lakes can quickly become useless swamps. This means ensuring the quality of the data, respecting the integrity of the data to deliver reliable data that complies with regulations. All of this, while supporting the business units so that they can access the right data at the right time, in the shortest possible time
explains Samia Boujatioui.
Is massive investment in Data necessarily a guarantee of success?
Far from it! "Technology will never be a miracle solution: it's governance and alignment between our customers' business needs and the technical solution that create value," emphasises Samia Boujatioui. The most common mistake? Believing that the tool alone will solve all data-related problems. Technology in business only makes sense when it is part of a clear framework supported by the whole organisation.
In other words, without concrete use cases and user support, even the best technology becomes dead weight. "The most important thing is to have a strategy: to know where you're going before you invest. Resources must be aligned with needs, not the other way round. Before collecting data, it's imperative to first think about how it can be used", says Samia Boujatioui. The challenge of using Data in business is not just a technical one: it's a cultural one. It's about putting users back at the heart of data, by giving them the means to act.
Are Data Lakes the universal solution for managing Data?
While Data Lakes had their heyday in the 2010s with the democratisation of Big Data, the ideal model today is a hybrid: the LakeHouse, a solution combining Data Lake and Data Warehouse. "The advantage of the LakeHouse is that it combines the massive data storage capacity of the Data Lake with the governance, structuring, modelling and ease-of-use features offered by the Data Warehouse". This solution is particularly well suited to organisations like Coface, which need to reconcile the volume, agility, accessibility and reliability of their data.
Want to learn more about Samia and her role at Coface? Watch Episode 2 of our Data & Tech @Coface video series !
