Newsletter - November 25

Dear Data People

We’ve certainly seen sparks fly as multi-coloured fireworks (g)littered the night skies. But what has been twinkling and banging in the world of data this month!

We’re kicking off with a dive into how poor data quality can become a personal crisis for professionals, and exploring the necessity of integrating data governance and risk. Then we consider how we can overcome the perception gap by providing C-suite utility over sheer visibility. And, finally, sparkly as they may be, find out why shiny data tools are not a strategy.

We’re really delighted to share the key findings from KDR’s State of Data Report on AI adoption and challenges. This is a big and fascinating read so clear the decks, grab a coffee and get stuck in. Happy reading!

Are Control and Compliance Two Sides of the Same Coin?

Too often, businesses treat data governance and risk separately. One is about control, while the other handles compliance. But the truth is, both serve to solve the same problems:

🔐 They protect critical information
🧭They support better decisions in unpredictable times

In a recent article, we share a 4-step checklist for integrating governance and risk (we promise you won’t need to invest in any bloated tech or costly frameworks).

Curious?

Flipping the Script!

We all know the mantra ‘AI is only as good as the data,’ but what if we flipped the usual script? 

Tech Monitor inspired us to think of poor data quality from another point of view. Whilst best known as a business problem, poor data may also be seen as a personal crisis for the data professional. 

Here’s where we’re coming from. 👇

If you're spending hours reacting to messy or siloed data, you're doing reactive data cleaning, which does slow you down. A lot of time is often wasted this way, not to mention credibility and momentum, too. 

And this can lead to another big problem for any data professional, which is trust erosion. ⚠️

Find out more

Overcoming the Perception Gap

CFOs need answers, not "12 dashboards," as Clare Kitching perfectly captures as she discusses the perception gap data teams must overcome.

Such a gap occurs when you've got data teams focusing on visibility, aka showing all the data they have, whereas the C-suite demands utility. 

From the data team, this requires showing only the data that drives decisions. Not everything! 

To do this effectively, you can use your three lenses, as Clare puts it:

🔍 Revenue drivers
🔍 Profit drivers 
🔍 Cash drivers 

These lenses form the framework for business leaders so, for the data professional working within the business, working within this perspective may be required to get the best results.

Discover How

Struggle vs Strategy

Data Tools are not Data Strategy.

This is what happens when data teams build strategy like it’s an IKEA shopping spree:

🪑 We get excited about the shiny new tools.
📦 We order everything that looks impressive.
📄 We skim the instructions (if at all).
🔧 And then we wonder why nothing fits together.

Classic tool-first thinking.

Too often, I see teams approach data strategy like this:

1. Buy tools
2. Build infrastructure
3. Add dashboards
4. Hope that impact magically appears

But here’s the truth:

More Here

KDR’s State of Data Report

KDR Talent Solutions is proud to launch The State of Data 2025/2026: Navigating Change, One Year On, in partnership with DAMA UK.

For those of you who are new to these reports, they provide a deep dive into how data professionals are responding to current economic, regulatory and technological conditions. 

This year’s findings show real progress: 74% of organisations have now adopted AI (up from 66%) and 67% report improved data usage. The biggest challenges? Data quality, skills gaps and budget pressure. 

Encouragingly, we’re seeing a growing focus on foundational practices that mirror many of the principles long championed by DAMA UK. Whether you’re shaping strategy or scaling operations, we hope this report offers useful insights for the year ahead.

Read the Report here