A Person's Hands Typing on a Laptop with Data Visualizations for Business Insights and Analytics

By Samuel Spencer, CEO of Aristotle Metadata

Data is one of the most valuable assets an organisation has. It’s expensive to collect, expensive to manage, and difficult to protect. And if it falls into the wrong hands? The reputational risk from data leaks can be immeasurable.

But here’s the kicker: every organisation collects data, whether they know it or not. HR, finance, supply chain – all these functions are constantly generating and storing information about events in business every day. Yet, much of this data is sitting in the shadows, unmanaged and underprotected. This shadow data is outside the visibility of Chief Data Officers (CDOs), because it’s not thought of as “business data”.

While this data can pose risks if it’s not unearthed, it also means that many Australian businesses are sitting on a goldmine! But, unlike real gold, once these assets are found they can be used and reused again and again to generate value. The challenge is, how do we uncover it?

Mining the Data Goldmine: Think Like a Prospector

Running with the goldmine analogy a little further, to excavate the riches of your hidden data, you need to think of yourself as a gold prospector. Do they randomly dig holes, hoping to hit the jackpot? No. They create a plan, survey the land, test areas for potential, and then strategically extract the most valuable deposits. The same approach should be applied to your data.

The MAST Manifesto

You need a structured methodology to uncover hidden assets, and that’s where the MAST methodology comes in. This is the manifesto that drives our work at Aristotle Metadata. It’s an acronym that represents the skills, culture and actions required for organisations to achieve good metadata governance.

  • Metadata: Metadata is critical to generating value from data. So we must promote the ease of documentation by people creating data.
  • Analysis: Good metadata is created by people by analysing business processes and data. People are the heart of data governance.
  • Support: The role of modern data governance teams is to support standards adoption, metadata reuse and improved data literacy.
  • Teamwork: Successful data governance programs come from collaboration within teams to deliver outcomes.

 But how do you go from theory to action? It starts with mapping out where your data lives and understanding how to extract value from it.

1. Map Your Organisation’s Data

The first step is to build a map of your organisation to understand where your data resides. Right now, data is scattered across different departments, often invisible to the broader business. The key is to get a quick inventory of what exists before diving deeper.

For example, HR may have valuable workforce insights that can help optimise productivity. Finance may hold transaction data that could identify new revenue streams. Supply chain data might reveal inefficiencies or predict disruptions before they happen. But without a map, you won’t know what you have — or where to start digging.

2. Start Small and Assess the Landscape

Once you have an idea of where the gold is, start mapping it out for future extraction. This doesn’t mean launching a massive data transformation project from day one. It’s about finding quick wins.

By documenting what data exists, where it’s stored, and how it’s used, you can create an enduring asset that allows you to track and protect your most valuable assets. Managing your data through a centralised searchable registry, ensures that valuable data doesn’t slip through the cracks and remain hidden in the shadows.

3. Sell Shovels, Not Just Gold

You don’t get rich digging up gold. You get rich selling shovels. Unlike gold, which can only be extracted once, data can be used and reused to create value for your organisation. Once you’ve surveyed and mapped out your data, figure out how to share that map with others, both internally and externally. Here’s why:

  • Internally: If departments know what data is available across the business, they can collaborate more effectively. Operations can use customer service data to improve experiences. Marketing can leverage financial data to target the most profitable customers.
  • Externally: Data partnerships can open new revenue streams. Retailers sharing anonymised sales trends with suppliers can optimise inventory. Healthcare providers analysing patient data can improve treatments. The possibilities are endless.

The key is making it easy for others to find and use your data. Telling people what data you hold, will help others innovate and create new insights. Think of it as creating a “shovel-selling” marketplace, providing access to insights rather than hoarding them in silos.

The Real Cost of Leaving Your Data Buried

Failing to harness data doesn’t just mean missing out on potential gold. It comes with real risks. Shadow data assets, left unmanaged, are easy targets for breaches. Regulatory compliance also becomes increasingly difficult when businesses don’t even know what data they have. Australian businesses need to shift their mindset. Managing data is not just an IT issue. It’s a strategic asset.

Going forward, the organisations that thrive will be those that think like prospectors — mapping out their hidden data assets, assessing their value, and finding innovative ways to share insights. The goldmine is there. Are you ready to start digging?

Sam Spencer