Don’t be a Bridge, Instead be a Lock

Lately I’ve spent a lot of time pondering my role in the world of data.  There’s this common phrase that we as data visualization and data analytics (BI) professionals hear all the time (and that I am guilty of saying):

“I serve as the bridge between business and IT.”

Well – I’m here to say it’s time to move on.  Why?  Because the bridge analogy is incomplete.  And because it doesn’t accurately represent the way in which we function in this critical role.  At first glance the bridge analogy seams reasonable.  A connector, something that joins two disparate things.  In a very physical way it connects two things that otherwise have an impasse between them.  The business is an island.  IT is an island.  Only a bridge can connect them.  But is this really true?

Instead of considering the two as separate entities that must be connected, what if we rethought it to be bodies of water at different levels?  They touch each other, they are one.  They are the same type of thing.  The only difference is that they are at different levels, so something like a boat can’t easily go between them.  Is this not what is really happening.  “The business” and “IT” are all really one large organization – not two separate, foreign entities.

This is where the role of being the Lock comes in.  A lock is the mechanism by which watercraft are raised or lowered between waterways.  And to a large extent it is a better analogy to our roles in data.  We must adapt to the different levels of business and IT.  And more importantly it is our responsibility to form that function – and to get the boat (more specifically “the data”) through from one canal to the other.

Even exploring what Wikipedia says about a lock – it fits better.

“Locks are used to make a river more easily navigable, or to allow a canal to cross land that is not level. ”

“Larger locks allow for a more direct route to be taken” [paraphrased]

Is this not how we function in our daily roles?  How fitting is it to say this:

“My role is to make your data more easily navigable.  My goal is to allow data to flow through on your level.  I’m here to allow a more direct route between you and your data.”

It feels right.  I’m there to help you navigate your data through both IT and business waters.  And it is my privilege and honor to facilitate this.  Let’s drop the bridge analogy and move toward a new paradigm – the world where we are locks, adjusting our levels to fit the needs of both sides.

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