Data maturity is all about how well your organization collects, manages, and uses data to make decisions.

A maturity model looks at things like data quality, governance, infrastructure, integration, documentation, and skills. These dimensions show how strong your data foundations really are.

Most frameworks group data maturity into four broad levels: data reactive, data informed, data-driven, and data transformed.

At the data-reactive level, the organization collects data, but in a fragmented, siloed way. Reporting is basic and mostly manual, with no formal governance or coordinated strategy.

When problems pop up, teams scramble to pull information from disconnected sources. Decisions still rely heavily on intuition, and the organization lacks a clear data strategy and dedicated data roles.

At the data-informed level, the organization’s data strategy is beginning to emerge and take shape. Simple data management practices are now in place, analytics tools are being introduced, and leaders are encouraging data literacy.

Access to data is improving and more employees are starting to use it to support everyday decision making.

In a data-driven organization, data is accessible across teams and data literacy is widespread.

The organization is using data insights not only for operational needs but also for strategic planning. These insights guide the optimization of key processes. Experimentation is common, and data plays an active and consistent role in their decision making.

Data transformed is the highest of the four levels. Data is now fully embedded in the organization’s culture and workflows.

Decisions are data-driven by default, and advanced analytics like predictive AI models shape their long-term strategy.

Continuous innovation is fueled by data insights, and data is treated as a strategic asset. The organization adapts quickly to new opportunities and challenges.

Understanding your organization’s current data maturity level is the first step towards building strong data foundations for your future.

Assessing data maturity

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