Panoply Blog: Data Management, Warehousing & Data Analysis

Why Shouldn't You Have a Single Source of Truth?

Written by Allison Foster | Apr 1, 2023 2:30:00 PM

Everyone’s talking about the benefits of a single source of truth for business data. They say a centralized hub helps you reduce manual tasks, get clearer insights for better decision-making, and increase productivity. 

However:

Don’t the businesses not looking for those benefits feel excluded from the conversation? What about the marketer who unwinds by populating reports in spreadsheets? Or the CFO who prefers a little mystery in financial planning? These forgotten voices for siloed data should be heard, and we’re here to say that we hear you. 

 

The top four reasons to forgo a single source of truth:

  1. Banish boredom! If you have to chase down data from all your apps and databases to get customer insights or campaign ROI, you’ll be busy all week. And won’t the insights be more rewarding when you spend ten times longer finding them than your competitors? 

  2. Nostalgia. The world is fast-paced and hectic today, and people expect instant gratification. Transport your business to a simpler yesteryear by analyzing data from each source and populating reports manually. We’re told the repetition can be very calming.

  3. Mysteriousness. Do you want to add some excitement to your business? Look no further than murky forecasting. No single source of truth means no consistent, reliable metrics, so it’s anyone’s guess what your financial forecast could be. Who doesn’t love a good mystery?

  4. Teambuilding. If departments in your company need access to information, foster teambuilding with siloed data. This way, they’ll have to reach out to each other - sometimes multiple times a day! - to send reports and metrics. It’s collaborative fun for the whole team.

 

Still not convinced? Does your business insist on clean data in a centralized hub? Do your employees want to cut down on manual tasks and boost productivity? In that case, Panoply can help.