With this week marking Wales Tech Week, it’s a perfect time to reflect on the growth of digital businesses throughout Wales and the need to scale when it comes to their Data Strategy.
Too often, a Data Strategy is defined by the technology choices being adopted by the business, whether this be the latest warehouse, connector or AI feature pushed by a vendor.
At Assured, our view is different. A real Data Strategy is not a collection of tools, it is the foundation of governance, standards, clarity and a solid base of engineering.
Tools don’t make a strategy
I’m Kieran, a Principal Data Engineer at Assured based in South Wales. I often speak to businesses looking to integrate the latest technology, or use the trending AI function provided by a vendor to form a part of their ‘Data Strategy’.
It’s an easy trap to fall into; the modern data landscape is increasingly noisy. Snowflake, Databricks, Airbyte, Fivetran, Airflow, dbt, AI Copilots – each claiming to ‘solve’ data in different or increasingly magical ways.
Here’s the truth: tools can only help if the fundamentals are already in place, and for many organisations – especially scaling businesses, the fundamentals are the part that need the most attention.
A real Data Strategy starts with clarity. It starts with an understanding of who owns which data, how it should be defined and how it should be governed. It’s knowing where data comes from, how it changes, who can see it, and how you safely handle it. Finally, it’s having a forum where engineers, analysts and the business can work together effectively.
The Welsh opportunity
Many regions in the UK are weighed down by years of legacy systems and a mix of multiple technology choices. However, the recent increase in funding for Welsh businesses has given them the chance to get things right earlier in their data journey, to lay proper foundations before scaling.
A recent study showed that 47% of organisations in Wales report a skills shortage, with Engineering and Technical roles being two of the top three areas contributing to this.
This shortage is precisely what creates opportunity.
Rather than trying to modernise legacy estates, Welsh businesses have the advantage of starting with simpler architectures, smaller teams, and a cleaner slate. The Welsh opportunity is not about having the skills today; it’s about having the space to develop a fully formed Data Strategy right away.
A strategy built to last
So, as Wales Tech week kicks off and conversations around Data Strategy come back into the spotlight, my hope is to shift the narrative away from “Which tools should we pick?” and towards “What foundations do we need to put in place?”
This is where Assured comes in, we are excited to be expanding our physical presence in Cardiff, and I will be growing a team of dedicated Data experts all skilled in helping business unlock the potential hidden in their data.
The Assured way is to take businesses on a journey from discovery, to advanced BI, through to being AI ready; whilst ensuring Governance, Lineage and clear standards are well defined throughout – building a strategy that is built to last. This will not only help to close the Data Skills Gap but also raise the bar for what good data looks like.
If any of the struggles mentioned in this blog sound familiar, if there are other data concerns you have or if you’d like to be a part of the journey, reach out to me for a conversation.
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