CFT Way Stage 1: Data Availability

The foundation of any successful data initiative lies in understanding what data you have, where it lives, and how accessible it is for decision-making. This is the critical first stage of the CFT Way.

Why Data Availability Matters

Before you can generate insights, you need to ensure your data is:

• Accessible: Can your team actually get to the data when needed?
• Complete: Are you missing critical data points for decision-making?
• Integrated: Can data from different systems work together?
• Governed: Do you have proper security and compliance controls?

Our Data Availability Assessment Process

1. Data Landscape Mapping

We catalog all your data sources, from operational systems to external feeds:

• Enterprise systems (ERP, CRM, HRM)
• Operational technology (IoT sensors, SCADA systems)
• External data sources (market data, weather, economic indicators)
• Unstructured data (documents, emails, social media)

2. Accessibility Analysis

Evaluating how easily your team can access critical data:

• Technical barriers: API limitations, system silos, legacy formats
• Organizational barriers: Approval processes, data ownership conflicts
• Skill barriers: Technical expertise required for data extraction

3. Data Gap Identification

Finding the missing pieces in your data puzzle:

• Critical business metrics not being captured
• External data sources that could enhance decision-making
• Historical data gaps that limit trend analysis

4. Integration Architecture Design

Creating secure, scalable data pipelines:

• Real-time vs. batch processing requirements
• Data transformation and standardization needs
• Security and compliance considerations

Case Study: Global Mining Partner

Our mining client had data scattered across 15 different systems with no unified view. Through our data availability assessment:

• Identified 47 critical data sources across operations, maintenance, and finance
• Reduced data access time from days to minutes through automated pipelines
• Eliminated 23 manual reporting processes that were prone to errors
• Established real-time monitoring for critical operational parameters

The result? A 60% reduction in time-to-insight and the foundation for advanced analytics that drove $2.3M in operational savings.

Key Deliverables

At the end of Stage 1, you'll have:

• Complete data inventory with accessibility ratings
• Integration roadmap prioritized by business impact
• Governance framework ensuring security and compliance
• Quick wins identified for immediate value delivery

Moving to Stage 2: Data Quality

Once your data is available and accessible, the next challenge is ensuring it's reliable and trustworthy. Stage 2 of the CFT Way focuses on establishing robust data quality frameworks that serve as the foundation for all downstream analytics.

Ready to master your data availability? Contact our team to begin your CFT Way journey.