Exchanges with Hitachi Solutions — The Podcast

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In this episode, Hitachi Solutions Advisory Expert Dave Horstein walks through the business use case for Microsoft Fabric with Lumada Empower Modern Data Platform Developer Don Scott. They talk about what Fabric means for your enterprise, and how Hitachi Solutions is particularly T-d up to help our customers surface the value of the technology today.
Problem Statement: Current data management solutions pose numerous challenges. Consolidating data into one place requires significant investment in technical capabilities, either through the hiring of external consultants or the upskilling of internal resources. The ongoing management and maintenance of these data environments are also cumbersome. Moreover, the penetration of data and analytics into the market has been poor, leaving many potential users unable to operate tools such as data warehouses.

Proposed Solution: Microsoft Fabric streamlines data management by consolidating all data sources into one spot, with sophisticated behind-the-scenes processing. This solution connects various storage assets, such as AWS S3 buckets and Azure Data Lake Store, enabling businesses to access their data where it lives, thereby avoiding the need for pipelines to move data around.

Benefits: Microsoft Fabric promises to shrink the time-to-value in data and analytics projects, thereby increasing the return on investment. It will enable businesses to be up and running with their data environments within days instead of the typical four to six weeks.

Additionally, Fabric supports the democratization of data projects by bringing information to the fingertips of users more quickly and easily. This could potentially unlock significant potential in the marketplace, allowing businesses to innovate in areas such as product design, supply chain management, and market presence.

Dependencies: The successful implementation of Fabric depends on businesses' willingness to adapt to new technologies and to invest in upskilling their workforce. As these tools become more ubiquitous, businesses that fail to adopt these technologies risk being left behind.

To learn more how Microsoft Fabric unifies your data estate, register for our upcoming live, expert-led webinar: Learn How Microsoft Fabric Unifies Your Analytics Estate – Hitachi Solutions (hitachi-solutions.com)

Other related resources:

The AI Freeway: Helping Business Leaders Take an Optimal Onramp for Outcomes Now! – Hitachi Solutions (hitachi-solutions.com)

Generative AI & Copilot Workshop – Hitachi Solutions (hitachi-solutions.com)

AI Onramp – Hitachi Solutions (hitachi-solutions.com)

global.hitachi-solutions.com

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Preparing for a digital transformation or taking the next step in your innovation journey? Is your organizational house in order? What is "digital readiness?"
Dave Horstein and Jim MacLennon discuss how companies best prepare for innovation through the lens of organizational readiness — from technology to human experience.

global.hitachi-solutions.com

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Introducing Exchanges: The ultimate podcast for innovating and creative problem solving in and around business and Microsoft technology.

global.hitachi-solutions.com

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Your Thought Leaders for this Episode:

• Dave Horstein, Host, Senior Advisory Consultant
• Greg Gant, Vice President of Corporate Development
• Hannah Farley, Vice President of Advisory Services

Overview

Constructing a business-led data strategy is the topic today! Based on customer interactions, we discuss the need for strategy alignment with overall business goals and outcomes for your enterprise. The inefficiencies of non value-added data work and the lack of trust in data among managers was discussed with an aim to address why data initiatives fail and how to correct course.

Key points of discussion include:

• The need for a business-led roadmap and how it must tie back to business outcomes.
• Fundamental necessity of having a talent strategy that aligns future states of organization with skill sets required for a robust data strategy.
• The importance of an efficient operating model for data sharing within the organization.
• Choosing the right technology solutions to leverage data and align with organizational goals.
• The imperatives of data management and governance to bolster confidence in organizational data.
• The essential nature of adoption and scaling, ensuring organizational capability to harness data effectively.

Action Items

1. Business Outcome Alignment: Enforce sincere business outcome alignment amongst leadership to avoid future derailment of data initiatives.
2. Current State Assessment: Performing a neutral current state assessment to accurately identify opportunities and discrepancies without biases.
3. Create a Roadmap Framework: Develop a strategic vision with clear business outcomes, timelines, resource allocation, and ownership for various initiatives.
4. People Plan Development: Ensuring the integration of a comprehensive people plan to support each phase of the data initiative, focusing on talent management and engagement.
5. Technology and Process Review: Reassess the technology and processes with a focus on ultimate business goals, not just technological advancements themselves.
6. Education and Enablement Program: Implementing a program to educate and enable employees, ensuring the governance model works effectively across the board.

Summary

The meeting successfully outlined critical considerations for a business transformation through a data-led approach. It highlighted that technology, while vital, is insufficient without strategic Alignment with business outcomes, supportive leadership, and an engaged and skilled workforce. The discussion confirmed the need to establish clear visions, leverage Alignment workshops like OGSM, and embed tangible value creation in roadmaps, with overarching emphasis on the critical role of people in the adoption and endorsement of any data strategy. The session concluded with a call to check out further material on the web at global.hitachi-solutions.com.
You might be interested in our upcoming webinar...
AI Readiness Roadmap: Guide to Unlocking Value with a Sound Data Strategy – Hitachi Solutions (hitachi-solutions.com)

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Podcast Summary

Title: Microsoft Fabric Conference Wrap Up with Hitachi Solutions

Podcast Air Date: Wednesday, April 17, 2024

Featuring: Brad Koontz hosts with Sandeep Pawar and Miles Cole

Key Points Discussed:

Microsoft Fabric Conference Customer Insights

• Brad Koontz introduces Microsoft's first-ever Fabric Conference (Fab Con) held in Las Vegas, with Hitachi Solutions expert presentations
• The conference featured 130 sessions with hands-on experience with Microsoft Fabric capabilities like data warehousing, data movement, AI, real-time analytics, and business intelligence.
• Hitachi Solutions has been in partnership with Microsoft for nearly two years, offering "Fabric in a Day" training since the previous November.

Announcements and Integrations

• Microsoft announced new fabric capabilities and Hitachi Solutions presented their own sessions at the conference.
• One significant investment was the integration between Microsoft and Databricks for better interoperability of platforms related to Lakehouse architecture.
• Mirroring was a new feature showcased, allowing for the replication of databases outside of Fabric, which facilitates data analysis without physical data movement.

Hitachi Solutions' Role and Offering

• Hitachi Solutions is positioned to assist customers with the integration of fabric and their existing investments due to their close relationship and collaboration with Microsoft.

Key Takeaways and Call to Action:

1. For Existing Lakehouse Architecture Users:
   • Customers can take advantage of fabric immediately, but nuances with integration exist.
   • Action Item: Hitachi Solutions to provide guidance on interoperability between platforms like Azure Databricks and Microsoft Fabric.
2. For New Users and Educating Customers:
   • Interest in Fabric is high, as demonstrated by conference turnout.
   • Hitachi Solutions offers our "Fabric in a Day" as well as upcoming dates for Microsoft's Fabric Analytics in a Day" events for customers

Next Steps:

Further engagement with Hitachi Solutions for education on Fabric's capabilities and assistance in implementing new technologies.

Related Resources:

Jumpstart Your Adoption of Microsoft Fabric with Lumada Empower Data Platform – Hitachi Solutions (hitachi-solutions.com)

Fabric in a Day – Hitachi Solutions (hitachi-solutions.com)

A Complete Data Estate in 7 Days? We Do It Every Day. – Hitachi Solutions (hitachi-solutions.com)

Next Gen Business Intelligence: Microsoft Power BI + Fabric – Hitachi Solutions (hitachi-solutions.com)

global.hitachi-solutions.com