{"id":15647,"date":"2022-12-08T14:50:36","date_gmt":"2022-12-08T13:50:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.huwise.com\/?post_type=glossary&p=15647"},"modified":"2022-12-08T14:50:36","modified_gmt":"2022-12-08T13:50:36","slug":"self-service-data","status":"publish","type":"glossary","link":"https:\/\/www.huwise.com\/en\/glossary\/self-service-data\/","title":{"rendered":"Self-service data"},"content":{"rendered":"

What is self-service data?<\/h2>\n

A self-service data implementation<\/a> enables everyone within an organization or ecosystem to access, query and visualize information<\/a>, without requiring support from IT, business analysts or data professionals.<\/p>\n

In self-service, data is normally available via a central data portal<\/a> or catalog that is open to all employees, and can be accessed at any time. This collects and displays datasets from across the organization in a single place.<\/p>\n

Self-service democratizes data access, providing employees or citizens with the ability to find, visualize, reshare and use relevant information on their own, gaining the insights they need to carry out their jobs or better understand the world around them. It is sometimes referred to as self-service business intelligence or self-service analytics.<\/p>\n

What are the benefits of self-service data?<\/h2>\n

Self-service data puts information directly in the hands of users, opening up and democratizing insight. It provides six key benefits:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. It empowers people to become data-driven, allowing them to use data insights to work more effectively, and make faster, better-informed and more transparent decisions.<\/li>\n
  2. It supports the shift to becoming a data-driven organization, increasing agility, responsiveness, and competitiveness.<\/li>\n
  3. It creates a company-wide data culture that puts information, sharing, collaboration, and openness at the heart of the organization.<\/li>\n
  4. It increases efficiency as employees no longer need to wait for reports and data to be prepared by others, freeing up resources and allowing process improvements.<\/li>\n
  5. It reduces the load on IT\/business analysts, enabling them to spend time on more strategic activities.<\/li>\n
  6. It increases transparency, as data can be easily accessed and shared internally and across an organization\u2019s ecosystem.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    What are the challenges to self-service data?<\/h2>\n

    Introducing self-service data requires businesses to overcome a mix of technology and organizational challenges:<\/p>\n

    Technology challenges:<\/h3>\n

    Organizations have increasing volumes of data, from a growing variety of sources. All of this needs to be collected and made available centrally via the self-service portal. Moreover, data can be stuck in silos, within departments, and needs to be freed in order to be shared.<\/p>\n

    Data also has to meet quality standards, and be up-to-date and accurate, particularly if it is real-time data collected via sensors.<\/p>\n

    The self-service portal and visualization tools have to be easy to use by non-experts, without requiring constant support or months of training.<\/p>\n

    Organizational challenges:<\/h3>\n