Media Query Source: Part 43 - CNBC (US business news television channel); Benefits of using self-service analytics tools

• CNBC (US business news television channel)
• Benefits of using self-service analytics tools
• Timely, custom exploratory analyses enabled
• Appropriate data governance needed

The responses I provided to a media outlet on March 3, 2023:

Media: I'm working on an article about the benefits of using self-service analytics tools, and looking to include comments from an IT or data analytics executive. Only looking for executives whose organizations are using these tools.

Gfesser: When used and governed by capable hands, self-service analytics tools can provide speed of delivery for custom analyses that otherwise wouldn't be available to users. Such custom analyses are typically exploratory in nature, because the very nature of self-service implies human users. Exploring data essentially means getting familiar with data values and data relationships, and such exploration can eventually lead to discoveries of ongoing value to an organization, at which time the one-off nature of self-service analytics can be productized via automation. 

Self-service analytics tools can provide many benefits, as long as these are used and governed by capable hands. In other words, users of these tools need to understand how to use these tools as well as understand the data processed by these tools, and the data made available through these tools needs to be reliable. If any of these aspects are missing, the benefits of readily available data can actually turn into liabilities because the convenience provided to users can lead to faulty output. Think of it this way: what good does it do an organization if data is readily available to users, but either the data or the analyses performed on this data is problematic?