Werner Enterprises turned to ER/Studio Enterprise to standardize its data management processes, improve collaboration, and make data a strategic tool for all users. By developing structured data models, standardizing business glossaries, enhancing data discovery, and improving governance, ER/Studio helped Werner streamline operations, promote data democratization, and increase visibility across the organization
Why ER/Studio?
ER/Studio Enterprise and ER/Studio Team Server helped Werner:
- Develop Structured Data Models:
The team used ER/Studio to create comprehensive and structured models of their data assets, giving departments across the organization a clearer understanding of the data they were using.
- Standardize Business Glossaries:
A business glossary was built to ensure consistent definitions of data points across departments, reducing confusion and ensuring alignment in data interpretation.
- Enhance Data Discovery:
ER/Studio’s data discovery tools made it easy for users to locate, understand, and use data assets. This improved data access for experienced team members and new employees, streamlining the onboarding process.
- Promote Data Democratization:
By providing all departments access to standardized data models and glossaries, ER/Studio facilitated data democratization, ensuring that data insights could be shared across the organization.
- Improve Data Governance and Visibility:
Implementing ER/Studio enabled the company to track and clarify data definitions and provide a one-stop-shop for data archiving, improving overall data visibility and reducing miscommunication.
Challenges Faced
The effective use of mission-critical datasets sits at the heart of Werner’s business model. In managing their diverse and complex data requirements, Werner’s specialist team applies bespoke classification and retention policies to provide the business with easy access to relevant data and insight.
Working across departments, they prioritize the need to streamline information while also providing effective data visibility.
Key Challenges
However, Werner needed help managing and utilizing its complex data. The company struggled with:
- Data Silos: Teams across departments had different interpretations and definitions of critical data points, leading to inconsistencies in data usage and meaning.
- Reliance on Tribal Knowledge: Key data knowledge was siloed within specific teams, making it difficult for new employees and departments to access and understand important datasets.
- Lack of Standardization: Data points were defined differently across departments, impacting the overall quality and consistency of the data and hindering effective collaboration across the organization.
The Need for Standardization
According to Patrick Rock, Data Modeler at Werner Enterprises, “We may have different definitions of data points in different areas of our business, which impacts what the data ends up meaning, what rules are applied, and where key areas of knowledge exist across the organization.”
Seeking a Solution
To address these challenges, Werner needed a solution to standardize data definitions, improve governance, and provide better data visibility across the enterprise.
Solution: ER/Studio ETE with Team Server Core
By implementing this comprehensive enterprise data modeling and data governance tool, Werner standardized its data management processes, improved collaboration, and ensured that data became a strategic tool accessible to all business users.
Key Benefits of ER/Studio for Werner:
- Develop Structured Data Models:
The team used ER/Studio to create comprehensive and structured models of their data assets, giving departments across the organization a clearer understanding of the data they were using.
- Standardize Business Glossaries:
A business glossary was built to ensure consistent definitions of data points across departments, reducing confusion and ensuring alignment in data interpretation.
- Enhance Data Discovery:
ER/Studio’s data discovery tools made it easy for users to locate, understand, and use data assets. This improved data access for experienced team members and new employees, streamlining the onboarding process.
- Promote Data Democratization:
By providing all departments access to standardized data models and glossaries, ER/Studio facilitated data democratization, ensuring that data insights could be shared across the organization.
- Improve Data Governance and Visibility:
Implementing ER/Studio enabled the company to track and clarify data definitions and provide a one-stop shop for data archiving, improving overall data visibility and reducing miscommunication.
- Improved Data Quality and Consistency:
By standardizing data models and definitions, Werner significantly improved the quality and consistency of its data, reducing errors and inconsistencies across the organization.
- Increased Efficiency:
Automated workflows, combined with easy-to-access data discovery tools, reduced the time spent searching for and understanding data, freeing up teams to focus on strategic tasks.
- Streamlined Communication and Collaboration:
Standardizing data definitions through business glossaries improved cross-department collaboration, reducing misunderstandings and making it easier for teams to collaborate on shared data projects.
- Enhanced Data Governance:
ER/Studio’s data governance capabilities allowed Werner to track data lineage, ensure compliance with internal and external regulations, and improve overall data governance practices.
- Faster Onboarding:
New employees could access standardized datasets and glossaries, accelerating their ability to understand and contribute to the company’s data-driven initiatives.
