Hopes and dreams for the Cornell Office of

Data Architecture & Analytics(ODAA)

Current state of data usability at Cornell: (How bad is it??)

As an analogy, ponder a library system with hundreds of libraries, each with unique catalog systems (if any), each

requiring esoteric knowledge about how to access information, each dependent on specialists—none of whom speak to other specialists across campus, and

each library having varying and unpublished rules about who is allowed in.

Traditional “BI”

Traditional central IT role is as a creator of reports – “BI” as a specific response to an *administrative* reporting need

Aging data governance

ODAA

Formed to support Cornell’s mission by maximizing the value of data resources

Act as a catalyst / focal point to enable access to teaching, research and administrative data

Acknowledge limited resources – cannot and will not attempt to forge a monolithic structured “library” but will attempt to maximize value from existing resources…”

Governance and Collaborative Strategy

Rethink governance: access as the norm, restrictions only as needed?

Broad campus involvement in data management – “freeing” of structured / unstructured data

Stop arguing over tools: OBIEE vs Tableau, etc.Form user groups” - get the analysts talking

Service Strategy

•Expand Institutional Intelligence initiative: create focused value from a select corpus of administrative data

(metadata, data provenance, governance, and sustainable funding)•Cost recovered reporting and analytics services•User groups•Consultants•Catalog and promulgate administrative and research data resources

Resource Strategy

• Infrastructure (IaaS)• Applications (P/SaaS)

• Reallocate savings• Skilled data & analytics professionals (direct and

contracted resources)• Modest investment in legacy tool refresh (ETL

tools, etc.)

Measures of Success

• ODAA becomes a known and trusted resource• Cultural evolution – open not insular• Data becomes, actionable, self-service• Broad campus involvement in data management –

“freeing” of data• Continued success of legacy services