Experts Tell Us the Best Books on Data Strategy

Bill Schmarzo, the Dean of Big Data, offers a practical method for assessing the worth of data and analytics investments. The worksheets in this book, which ask difficult questions on how an organisation might evolve, are what I like most. Schmarzo advises keeping away from sunk costs and implementing models rather than treating them as abandoned experiments. The framework and case study in Chapter 4 will help organisations make better use of analytics.

Anyone interested in entering the data science field must read this case study. The book Fighting Churn with Data is packed with credible resources drawn from Dr. Gold’s professional life up to his position as Chief Data Scientist at the business Zuora. The loss of a paying subscriber is an example of churn, which happens when a consumer cancels their membership. Any company with recurring revenue must pay close attention to this measure. Data Scientists need to have a solid understanding of this kind of business model as the number of businesses moving toward the subscription economy continues to rise. Therefore, reading this book would be a fantastic practice assignment for an aspiring data scientist or an experienced practitioner interested in gaining a more profound comprehension of this specialized field.

I highly recommend this data strategy book for C-level executives, marketers, and anyone who is interested in learning social media analytics and social media marketing. This book taught me that proper data management and governance are part of accelerating business performance. I learned the importance of using the right tools and data sources to increase ROI from social media and digital marketing. While this book isn’t as in-depth as other technical data strategy books I’ve read, it provides easy-to-grasp information to first-time social media data analytics learners.

If you’re a beginner in Google Analytics, this data strategy book is for you. This book highlights the features of Google Analytics, such as Intelligence Questions and Global Site Tag tracking code, which impact link and on-page tracking. Aspiring marketers usually have a lot of misconceptions about Google Analytics. This book eliminates fear, doubts, and issues associated with using this powerful data analytics tool to create successful digital marketing campaigns.

Thankfully it doesn’t involve causing any harm to wildlife; the HiPPO referenced in the title is actually the Highest Paid Person’s Opinion. The book’s focus is on using data to make decisions in marketing rather than allowing the loudest voice in the room to influence the strategy. It is a practical and to-the-point guide to taking action and applying theory to get results. A well-written and entertaining read, as well as being incredibly useful, it’s one to recommend to experienced marketers as well as those just starting out.

With an ever increasing amount of data available, it has become important to start learning how to use that data to grow our business. Without anyone within the business already qualified or experienced in this area, we needed to upskill existing team members. This book helped us to identify who should be collecting and analysing our data, what data is most important to focus on and how we can use that data to formulate changes within the business. Whilst for some the information might be more obvious, this was a new area for us to explore and having the details laid out in a clear way helped with setting is on the right path. With the basics in place, we were then able to look to other resources to develop our data strategy further. In fact, the author has a website that includes further support for data strategy.

The author’s message is quite simple, data without analytics is an empty promise.” Or in other words, collect all the data you want to, but unless you can organize and understand it, it will be of no use whatsoever. With this in mind, he takes this rather complex issue and helps us to understand how to evaluate our data, frame it in an analytical project, and understand the economic laws that transform the digital world. To simplify matters, the author uses a range of tables and infographics to help you with your own digital transformation. It isn’t a book to be read and left on the shelf, keep it by your desk as you are sure to refer to it often as you work through your project.

This book not only serves as an in-depth guide to driving a business forward using data but it also incorporates thoughts on leadership, relationships and culture. Any marketeer knows that a winning strategy must be based on figures and statistics to ensure the correct targeting and budget allocation. This book helps the reader understand the importance of measuring and implementing data but by approaching it in a fluid and agile way – a recipe for sure success in an ever-changing world.

Data is simply too critical to business growth to be misunderstood by “non-tech” professionals – it’s pulled out of its niche and into mainstream business operations. This book helps data experts share critical insights with leadership and employees with compelling stories to help them understand and engage with the content. By sharing strategies and loads of real-life examples, Knaflic helps you go beyond data convention to create data-driven messages that resonate.

This book provides practical measures that business users should take to handle data in a variety of ways, including data governance, data engineering, master data management, business intelligence, and others.The book provides a clear definition of data strategy and covers chapters that explain how to match data strategy with business strategy, a debate on evaluating data as an asset, the evolution of data management, and who should oversee data strategy. The chapters on key data management domains—data governance, data engineering, master data management and analytics—provide users with a realistic approach to data management within the framework of data strategy.This book is intended for business users who deal with data, who need to handle one or more elements of the organization’s data, and who want to foster an integrated approach to how business data is handled.Modern Data Strategy is also an excellent guide for students studying computer science and business administration, or simply for someone who has been charged with starting up or developing existing data management.

Learn how to build consistent, high-quality sources of data that will create business value. This comprehensive guide teaches you to design and implement a results-driven data strategy. This book includes real-life examples and case studies. Discover how automation, AI, and machine learning can improve performance and decision-making. This book guides you to evolve into a foremost developer who systematically outshines rivals. A successful data strategy can increase revenue, reduce cost and risk, and improve customer satisfaction.

Data Powered Business Transformation explains how to maximize the value of data. Caroline Carruthers and Peter Jackson, two global data transformation and education pioneers, discuss the value of data and how to use data science to deliver meaningful results.

How often does a company say, Our most valuable asset is our people. Still, people data and analytics are rarely at the top of a CDO’s use cases? As workers demand visibility into safety protocols and diversity metrics, and employers battle to retain the best talent amid the great resignation, the pandemic has certainly made this more urgent.

This book was recommended to me by the data and analytics team at Nationwide Building Society to deal with the people change management that comes with transformation projects. Indeed, becoming data-driven necessitates a shift in people’s mindsets and the dismantling of legacy systems.

Are you perplexed by the rapidly evolving and sometimes contradictory concepts and architectures of data fabric, data mesh, data lake house, data warehouse, and data lakes? This is a must-read for our generation, and I believe it will be just as influential as the original Inmon and Kimball work.