Why Are Data Teams Still Struggling To Answer Basic Questions

“Why do we still struggle to answer basic questions like how many customers are still active or what exactly is the company’s churn?” This was a question posed to a panel I was sitting on at the Snowflake Summit. Several panelists provided different answers and all come from very different perspectives. Truth be told I have mulled over this question for the last few years as I worked on projects that involved reconciling basic numbers like several active customers or total sales for a company. Metrics most would assume would be easy to calculate but continue to plague companies even after they spent large amounts of their budget trying to build robust data infrastructure. Rarely is this due to one cause. Over the years I have seen a multitude of reasons why companies struggle to answer basic questions. These reasons range from constant turnover of developers, ERP and CRM migrations, producers of data constantly changing what data they provide, and mergers and acquisitions(of course there are still more reasons). All in all, trying to continually report even basic numbers can prove to be very challenging when the underlying components are constantly shifting, but let’s discuss some of these issues and how we can try to mitigate them. If you enjoyed this video, check out some of my other top videos. Top Courses To Become A Data Engineer In 2022 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kW8_l57w74g What Is The Modern Data Stack - Intro To Data Infrastructure Part 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ClWgwC0Sbw If you would like to learn more about data engineering, then check out Googles GCP certificate https://bit.ly/3NQVn7V If you'd like to read up on my updates about the data field, then you can sign up for our newsletter here. https://seattledataguy.substack.com/​​ Or check out my blog https://www.theseattledataguy.com/ And if you want to support the channel, then you can become a paid member of my newsletter https://seattledataguy.substack.com/subscribe Outline: 0:00 - Intro 1:19 - Developers Like To Develop 2:55 - Changing Underlying Solutions 4:40 - Lack Of Process 6:20 - Merging Companies 7:40 - Some Solutions Tags: Data engineering projects, Data engineer project ideas, data project sources, data analytics project sources, data project portfolio _____________________________________________________________ Subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmLGJ3VYBcfRaWbP6JLJcpA?sub_confirmation=1 _____________________________________________________________ About me: I have spent my career focused on all forms of data. I have focused on developing algorithms to detect fraud, reduce patient readmission and redesign insurance provider policy to help reduce the overall cost of healthcare. I have also helped develop analytics for marketing and IT operations in order to optimize limited resources such as employees and budget. I privately consult on data science and engineering problems both solo as well as with a company called Acheron Analytics. I have experience both working hands-on with technical problems as well as helping leadership teams develop strategies to maximize their data. *I do participate in affiliate programs, if a link has an "*" by it, then I may receive a small portion of the proceeds at no extra cost to you.