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Many of us have heard the phrase “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” for many years.  When hearing that phrase, it conjures up images of plastic water bottles, milk jugs, and soda cans.   Have you ever stopped to think of how these three words could be applied to the never-ending flood of data sources in our organizations? 

As many of us can attest, our data houses are becoming messy, and the stuff is piling up.   Our teams are getting overwhelmed in trying to deal with the deluge.  The refrains of “we have the data, but we can’t find it” Or “It is like looking for a needle in a haystack” are becoming all too common.

According to a recent report by Seagate, they project a 42.2% annual growth rate of enterprise data over the next two years.  The data deluge is an issue for organizations today that threatens to become a serious risk in the future if not addressed.  Our data houses are chaotic, and it is difficult to know where to start to get it under control.

Here is where concepts borrowed from recycling can help: 

• Recycle – Recycle the tried-and-true techniques for organizing and managing work.  Dealing with data, while considered a bit esoteric, is just another type of work.  Get the work identified, prioritized (or de-prioritized if appropriate), and scheduled on a roadmap. 
  
  
• Reduce – Reduce the amount of data sources used in your organization. Not all sources are created equal. Identify which sources are both relevant and reliable.  Eliminate the clutter and noise from the others.
  
  
• Reuse – Investigate methods to share data knowledge. It is amazing how something as simple as a bi-weekly “birds-of-a-feather” sharing session across the key analysts in the organization can help with this.  Promote collaboration and sharing amongst the data analysts in your organization.  A bit of time invested up-front can pay off big-time in reduced rework.