Dakhalfani Boyd serves as the Director of Information Management for the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority (WMATA), the third busiest rail transit system in the United States, by ridership, second only to New York City and Chicago. He brings to WMATA his expertise in information management, and his experience in digital transformation.
Coupled with his information management expertise, Dakhalfani is also a technology executive who has an extensive background in large-scale Human Capital technology implementations within the Defense industry. While working on these technology projects, Dakhalfani uncovered a fundamental constraint in moving these projects forward: Information Silos. Dakhalfani explains that “silos make it difficult for organizations to pivot during changing business initiatives.”
Dakhalfani has acquired a deep understanding of the challenges organizations face in managing their information, and how information silos underscore those challenges. Understanding this, Dakhalfani helps businesses optimize their business processes and improve their information management. He does this by leveraging technology to help dismantle information silos.
Using Technology to Dismantle Information Silos
Dakhalfani shares that Infusing technology into your information management plan can result in efficiencies that favorably impact your bottom line. Dakhalfani suggests that the current business environment is characterized by rapid technological advancements and increasing digitalization. These trends have made it possible for companies to digitize their processes and streamline their operations through the use of advanced technologies such as Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, resulting in enhanced efficiency, increased productivity, and overall cost reductions. Dakhalfani brings to mention:
“Information silos mean that your company is missing out on a wealth of opportunity. What if you could use technology to eliminate the gaps that exist between sales, marketing and customer service? What if you could finally get a complete view of your customers or stakeholders with meaningful insights?”
An Information Strategy is Imperative
Dakhalfani believes that at the heart of effective information management, is a broad and comprehensive information management strategy. Managing information is critical for running an efficient business. Having a well-defined information management strategy will ensure you identify where your most valuable information resides, how to find it when you need it, how to ensure that it remains accurate and secure, and who has access to it. Dakhalfani states:
“An information strategy helps make your company more agile, secure, responsive and profitable by enabling you to make data-driven decisions about your business capabilities.”
Secure Your Information
Securing information access helps businesses to avoid the consequences of cyber security threats. Securing information means limiting access to sensitive business data, ensuring that access to this data is only granted to those with a valid business reason for doing so, and reviewing these permissions regularly. Dakhalfani tells us, “The more access to your data, the more likely you are to be attacked by cyber criminals. By securing information access and controlling who has access, you can mitigate this risk.”
The Devil Is in The Data
Dakhalfani stressed the importance of eliminating low-quality data. Low quality data can negatively impact business decisions, leading to unwarranted mishaps.
He advises enterprises to “adopt data cleansing processes to ensure accurate and reliable data. This can help businesses improve their decision-making capabilities and reduce the risks of costly mistakes.”
Dakhalfani goes on to say, low-quality data can lead to poor decision making, which in turn results in financial losses for companies. He advises companies that want to avoid such losses should implement data governance and data cleansing processes within their strategy.
Dakhalfani’s information management acumen and technology prowess positions him as a thought leader and expert in the digital transformation space. His ability to leverage technology, champion change, and create alignment through automation and business process reengineering serves as the catalyst for eliminating information silos.
His in-depth knowledge and pragmatic approach allow companies and organizations to effectively transform digitally. Dakhalfani is committed to helping organizations succeed in the digital landscape, and helps organizations modernize to remain competitive and relevant.
Connect with Dakhalfani here on LinkedIn.
