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Welcome to our monthly newsletter - where we let you know what's been happening in the world of data, keep you in the loop with our latest blog releases, highlight our top news picks and share with you exclusive updates from the team at DAMA UK.
Dear Data People
We’ve got an announcement this month… The deadline for nominations for the DAMA UK Data Management Practitioner Awards has been extended to Friday 29th August!
That means you’ve still got time to celebrate the individuals and teams driving real change in Data Management across the UK and Europe. The winners will be announced live at the IRM UK – Data & AI Conference this October, and prizes include trophies, industry recognition, a signed DMBOK V2 (Revised Edition), a conference pass, and even the chance to host a DAMA UK webinar.
This is your last chance to shine the spotlight on the data professionals who deserve it. So, nominate yours here: DAMA UK Awards 2025 - Data & AI - IRM UK
Find out more about the event at https://irmuk.co.uk/data-ai-conference-2025/.
Top Picks from the last few weeks
Data Quality: The Unsung Hero Driving Trust, Growth, and Innovation
Data quality really is the silent hero of any successful data initiative.
This handy infographic, shared by Pooja Jain, illustrates this well. It’s a clear, visual reminder that while data volume is growing exponentially, value only comes when that data is trusted and well-managed.
Pooja makes an important point about market demand, too. As more organisations invest in data quality and governance roles, it reflects a shift in mindset. 👇
Turning Dashboards Into Data Products That Last
Reframing dashboards as data products rather than one-off deliverables clearly has implications for long-term usability and impact.
As such, approaching dashboards with a product mindset introduces a new level of structure. This can be around ownership, iteration, and also feedback.
And this new mindset can be said to align quite well with key principles in data management. Say, maintaining data accuracy, or monitoring for usage over time.
Yassine Mahboub delivers a useful way to prompt organisations to think differently about how their data tools are delivered and sustained.
Find out more...The Power of Ontology in Data Products
There is a lot to be said about building data products, from their technical overlay to the challenge of making them genuinely useful and relevant to business.
And we agree with Tony Seale that a potential enabler of good data products can be a well-defined business ontology, which offers a structured way to define and relate key concepts in a way that’s consistent and accessible across teams.
💡From a data perspective, this kind of structure helps in a few practical ways…
So… Where Should Your GenAI Get Its Data?
As large language models and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) pipelines become part of everyday business tasks, many organisations now face the key question of where GenAI tools should get their data from.
Blocks and Files outline four broad data source categories to consider:
➡️ Storage systems
➡️ Data lakes, warehouses, and databases
➡️ Backup stores
➡️ Data management platforms
The article is definitely a nudge for data leaders to potentially consider re-evaluating their architecture, especially when building pipelines that support trustworthy AI.
Big News: Collibra Joins DAMA UK!
We’re excited to welcome Collibra as our newest sponsor! They help organisations break down data silos and unify data and AI governance, so teams can trust, comply, and get results faster.
This partnership means even more value for our members, which means stronger insights, smarter decisions, and faster outcomes.
👉 Discover more about Collibra: Unified governance for data and AI | Collibra
Diary Dates
IRM Conference - September 15-17
📢 Business Analysts, this one’s for you
Mark your calendars for the Business Analysis Conference Europe, taking place in London from 15–17 September 2025, hosted by IRM UK.
This year’s event is your chance to explore the future of business analysis, organisational transformation, and tech-driven innovation. It’s packed full of highly insightful sessions on the tools, frameworks, and practices that redefine how organisations adapt, evolve, and ultimately, thrive!
Agility and adaptability are essential these days as disruptive technologies continue to reshape industries. So, whether you’re a practitioner, change leader, or innovator, this event should be top of your ‘to-attend’ list.
Take advantage of this opportunity to connect, sharpen your expertise, and make a lasting impact.
Learn more and register here 👉 https://lnkd.in/e9H3ptJs
Upcoming Webinars
Public Webinar - 5th September
📢 AI-Ready Data: A Practical Framework for Quality and Trust
BCS and DAMA UK are excited to kick off a brand-new series of collaborative webinars with a session that explores one of the most pressing challenges in AI today: making data truly AI-ready.
💡Join Thomas Carey-Wilson (Researcher, ODI) as he introduces the Open Data Institute’s practical framework for moving beyond broad principles and into real-world action. This talk will unpack the essential properties, metadata, and infrastructure needed to build AI systems that are not only innovative but also trustworthy.
Thomas brings expertise from ODI’s Data-Centric AI programme, where he focuses on governance practices across the AI lifecycle and the standards shaping digital transformation.
Register here - AI-Ready Data: A Practical Framework for Quality and Trust
Did you Miss…
Any of our recent webinars?
Each of our webinars addresses a specific aspect of data management or the challenges and opportunities facing us data practitioners. They’re hugely popular and valuable so, if you didn’t catch them all, why not take a look at our fantastic archive here 👉 DAMA UK - Events.
Sponsors
Finally, we would like to say a HUGE thank you to our brilliant sponsors, who support DAMA UK on our mission to nurture a talented community of data professionals championing the value of data management across the UK.
