It should come as no surprise that Seagate, architect of the modern datasphere, is an organization with a deeply data-centric culture. At Seagate, a dedication to evidence-based decision making runs through every corner of operations, from engineering to marketing to partnerships with giants of industry around the world. The company’s leaders, most of them former engineers and scientists, have worked to cultivate a very knowledgeable organization by deepening employee engagement with data.
Though with its sophisticated data infrastructure, Seagate is well-positioned for the transition to an AI-powered future, no organization is without its data challenges. An independent global survey commissioned by Seagate and conducted by IDC in 2020 found that though enterprise data is projected to grow at more than 42% annually, 68% of available data currently goes unused.
The report, Rethink Data, identifies several points of failure where the majority of data value is lost: First, there are missed opportunities in metrology. Organizations often fail to ensure both that needed data is collected and that collected data is needed. Second, the mismanagement of data storage and security immediately diminish the value extracted from enterprise data. And lastly, many organizations unwittingly silo data streams, creating internal blind spots for those seeking to optimize global operations.
One solution to these points of failure is the emerging discipline of DataOps, which connects data creators with data consumers – a philosophy very much in place at Seagate where the engineers who learned these lessons many years ago are now directors and VPs. Data communications link technology and human resources, and a robust data classification policy at the enterprise level sorts through what is asked of different data types and ensures that data delivers on those goals.
But it’s not sufficient to simply build a foundation of knowledge for how to analyze data; you have to analyze it well, and for that, you need the right tools. That’s why all engineers at Seagate have access to JMP® statistical discovery software and a select few have JMP Pro.
“If you’re a construction company and you’re building houses, do your workers get hammers? Yes,” says Ted Ellefson, Managing Principal Engineer in Mechanical R&D at Seagate. “Our engineers, if they analyze data, then yes, they typically use JMP.”