According to a PwC survey, highly data-driven organizations are three times more likely to report significant improvements in decision-making compared to those that rely less on data. Organizations with a history of several lost acquisitions under their belt usually have inconsistent data, disconnected systems, and increasing operational expenses.

Without an integrated data strategy, inefficiencies accumulate, and it becomes difficult for leadership to make informed, data-driven decisions. Among the most noted experts to help address these challenges is Chandra Bonthu, whose data management, governance, and enterprise integration knowledge has transformed how his company handles and utilizes data.

Chandra started as a data management consultant in 2014. He was assigned with critical tasks in consolidating data and systems after a huge acquisition. The company needed a massive Master Data Management (MDM) platform and a Data Quality solution to ensure that everything is running smoothly. Chandra's work in developing and implementing these solutions helped in establishing a smoother, more efficient, data-driven way of conducting business.

One of his biggest first projects was the company's pricing analytics initiative, which already had failed owing to issues with data quality. Sales and price personnel needed pricing analytics to make crucial decisions, but inconsistent data made it challenging to provide accurate insights. Chandra resolved this by implementing an automated pipeline for data cleansing, which would only pass validated, high-quality data to the analytics dashboards. This eradicated the need for manual data correction efforts, reduced errors at the source, and allowed the deployment of the pricing analytics solution with success.

As the firm grew and started issuing shares to the public, its share price increased from $20 to $60 within a year, showing how well its digital changes were going. At some point during this time, Chandra was promoted to a full-time role as a Principal Engineer in enterprise data management. His work had already improved data accuracy, made reporting easier, and yielded useful insights, but this was just the start of what he could do.

Chandra improved at his work and was promoted to Associate Director. He oversaw MDM, Data Governance, and Data Quality. His role now entailed making crucial decisions, overseeing data projects in the company, and managing a team. He ensured the company had the correct data systems to ensure long-term growth.

One of his largest projects involved relocating the MDM platform to a cloud environment that would support multiple domains. This new configuration served to manage data in a less complex and more structured manner. He was also part of developing the company's first enterprise data lake, which facilitated storing and processing large data for advanced analysis and the use of AI.

In a bid to expand enterprise master data assets, Chandra added more domains like Study and Study Sites, developing a 360-degree view of business activities and customer interactions. With the use of graph data models, the business was now able to see entity relationships, making more informed decisions across various departments.

Chandra also spearheaded the creation of an Enterprise Data Quality Dashboard (DQD), the industry's first. The dashboard provided real-time feedback on the data quality metrics, thus allowing business teams to utilize up-to-date and trustworthy data for reporting and decision-making. Additionally, he created an ETL Test Automation Framework that minimized the dependency on conventional manual testing and maximized the batch data processing performance of data from diverse data sources.

Apart from these technological achievements, Chandra has played a key role in building highly motivated and high-performance teams that foster innovation within the company. His enterprise roadmaps, digital transformations, and solution leadership at large scales have helped drive business growth, revenue diversification, and enhanced operational efficiency. During his tenure, the company has grown exponentially, doubling its revenue from below $1 billion to more than $4 billion, a decade of record growth.

Looking back on his journey, Chandra says, "Success in data management isn't about fixing mistakes—it's about building systems that prevent them from happening. When data is accurate and available in real time, companies can make decisions that drive real change. Every big change we've made has been about giving the organization the right information at the right time." Chandra's skill to convert data obstacles into business opportunities has been a hallmark of his achievement. His efforts have not just enhanced internal efficiencies but have also positioned the organization at the forefront of capitalizing on data for strategic development. With the business growing further, his skill shall remain paramount in ensuring that decision-making based on data continues to be at the center of its success.