EY, in partnership with Microsoft, recently organised a data management event aimed at providing pointers on how organisations can leverage unified data and AI to optimise performance in Accra.
The event was held at the Marriot Hotel in Accra, dubbed ‘Accelerate Innovation with Microsoft Intelligent Data Platforms’. The event involved subject matter expert presentations, panel discussions by cross-functional industry players and a networking session, and touched on the most recent developments in data management and how companies can optimise their data estates to accomplish their goals.
The session attracted over 30 institutions across a number of industries. Some of the participating institutions included GRA, Airtel-Tigo, Scancom Ghana, GRIDCo, GNPC, DVLA and eProcess international.
Djabanor Narh, a Partner at EY Ghana, opened the session by highlighting the need to recognise data as a strategic resource that must be harnessed to optimise business performance. He stressed the need for participants to employ leading practices and tools to optimise their data estates.
Speaking on ‘Winning with Analytics and Governance’, Sarah Oppan – the Data & Analytics Lead at EY Ghana and a leading data expert in Ghana – introduced the EY Data Fabric framework; a solution that helps organisations develop use cases and realise business value from their data estate to drive smart business decisions, increase work efficiency and reduce operational overhead cost.
The EY Data Fabric takes a customised approach to provide a comprehensive view of an organisation’s data assets, and enables data to be seamlessly accessed and processed across different business units. The Semantic Data model layer becomes the enterprise view across all data domains, and this helps to lower cost of future platforms and ensure secure compliance.
The data framework also allows upfront mapping of policy, regulations and processes into the business data layer, and enables transparency of how applications are. The EY Data Fabric can help companies accelerate their transformation journey and take a major step forward to improve their competitive standing. Sarah also provided an insightful description on the role that data governance and analytics play in accomplishing corporate goals.
Microsoft Africa’s Chukwuma Okpaka – who leads the Africa Azure Business Group, spoke on two major subjects: Microsoft Intelligent Data Platforms and Innovation with Data Platforms and AI in every Application. His presentation shed light on how Microsoft uses data and artificial intelligence (AI) to spur invention across a range of sectors.
Four panellists, including Olufunsho Peters, CEO-Infinion; Kwame Fianko, Head of Data Mining and Analytics-GRA; Hanson Cofie Kyeremeh, Head of Cyber Security-Ecobank eProcess; and Abel Diatey, CIO-GCB Bank, shared insightful perspectives on migration and modernisation of data estates.
Their submissions centred on issues such as legacy data centre management, anticipated growth in data estate migration, cost advantages, decision-making value addition, and safety. The panellists offered a well-rounded viewpoint from the vendor, buyer, potential buyer and security points of view, resulting in a conversation that was both thought-provoking and educational. The panel discussion was moderated by Sarah Oppan from EY.
Participants rated the event as insightful and a great success. The session ended with EY and Microsoft Africa expressing their joint commitment and continuous support for the business community and government to innovate and grow.
