Collibra > Case Studies > Enabling Data Discovery in Defense: The OSD's Journey with Collibra

Enabling Data Discovery in Defense: The OSD's Journey with Collibra

Technology Category

Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Middleware, SDKs & Libraries
Sensors - Autonomous Driving Sensors

Applicable Industries

Buildings
National Security & Defense

Applicable Functions

Human Resources
Procurement

Use Cases

Inventory Management
Visual Quality Detection

Services

Testing & Certification

About The Customer

The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) and their Comptroller Office of the Undersecretary of Defense are responsible for US defense policy, planning, resource management and program evaluation. Their decisions impact a wide range of operations, including human resources, weapons acquisition, research, intelligence and fiscal policy across all of the US armed forces. The OSD is a large organization with a complex data landscape. The organization recognized the need for a centralized platform for data and analytics to enable better decision-making. The OSD partnered with Collibra to launch the Advana Data Catalog to address this need.

The Challenge

The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) and their Comptroller Office of the Undersecretary of Defense are responsible for US defense policy, planning, resource management and program evaluation. Their decisions impact a wide range of operations, including human resources, weapons acquisition, research, intelligence and fiscal policy across all of the US armed forces. Given the size of the organization, data is crucial to its decision-making processes. However, ensuring decision makers have access to the right data, can trust in its accuracy and understand its context is a complex task. Recognizing this challenge, Greg Little, Director, CFO Data Transformation Office, sought to create a centralized platform for data and analytics across the organization.

The Solution

Greg Little partnered with Collibra to launch the Advana (Advancing Analytics) Data Catalog. This program utilized the technology provided by Collibra to respond to the need for users and stakeholders across the OSD to find, understand and trust their data, ultimately empowering and enabling better decision-making. The Advana program began with a targeted implementation and internal champions with experience to help drive the program’s success. The primary use case was financial management. The CFO’s office needed to be able to track spending and carry out their audit function more effectively. By cataloguing all data sources in scope of the OSD’s financial audit function, the team helped simplify what had been a very challenging process. Collibra Data Catalog provided a “single source of truth” for the CFO’s office and enabled financial analysts to have a complete view of the available data within the department.

Operational Impact

The Advana program has made significant strides in its mission, with the team tracking key performance indicators to ensure they remain on the right path and can measure their progress. The program has been successful in its primary use case of financial management, simplifying the audit function and providing a single source of truth for the CFO’s office. The program is now being expanded to include different use cases, with adjustments made as needed to customize the use case for different lines of business. The team is also working on a data quality framework to ensure that the data is high quality, trustworthy and accurate. The broader mission of the Advana program is to increase uptake within the community, make the catalog more comprehensive and make it part of business analysts’ day-to-day workflow.

Quantitative Benefit

The team categorizes success as usage and uptake, looking at how many people are currently using the data catalog, who is using it and how often across the entire organization.
The team is also interested in how often a user accesses Collibra Data Catalog, whether daily, weekly or monthly.
The team is currently working on a way to measure data quality, aiming to gauge levels of data quality and make that information transparent to consumers.