This week on the Data Futurology podcast we are thrilled to welcome Tamara Mirkovic. Mirkovic is a specialist in data platforms, AI, machine learning and predictive analytics, and was recently the recipient of the Women In Digital National Award.

Mirkovic has experience building all-of-business data strategies and leading the change management program to get the organisation motivated behind the transformation.

It’s not easy, as Mirkovic said. When individuals and teams are already capable with data within their own silos, adopting a new platform can raise concerns for everything from cybersecurity to job stability. Even with the support of a visionary leadership team driving efforts from the top down, the success of a change management program relies on finding the right people to act as the champion within the peer group.

From there, it’s all about building a repeatable approach to the applications and models that will allow it to be rolled out to other teams across the organisation. “When you’ve got a critical mass of use cases, then everything going forward can be a version and iteration on what’s already been done,” Mirkovic said. “Our intention is to create enough patterns that can then be reused very quickly for other use cases.”

Finally, Mirkovic discussed what it means to have won the Woman In Digital award, and the challenges and opportunities that face women in the sector in general.

Tune in to hear these insights, and many (many) more from this wide-ranging and detailed interview!

Please note: The opinions expressed by Mirkovic in this podcast are hers alone, and not a representation of the organisations she has worked for and mentions.

Enjoy the show!

Thank you to our sponsor, Talent Insights Group!

Connect with Tamara:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamaramirkovic/

To learn more about Women in Digital: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tamaramirkovic/

https://womenindigital.org/

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What We Discussed:

00:00 Welcome to Data Futurology

2:36  Introduction to the podcast and guest, Tamara Mirkovic.

3:09 An overview of Tamara’s experience and current role.

4:08 On the subject of building a data strategy program from the ground-up: what has been the most effective approach?

5:16 When looking at a wide-scale transformation project, how do you break it down?

7:25 What are some of the major challenges that you’ll come across when undergoing digital transformation and data transformation?

11:42 What can be done to encourage the data scientists within the organisation to change the mindset around to use common tools and approaches, to build a more collaborative environment?

17:55 How did the leadership team support the initial idea, and then the resistance that came at first?

20:22 How did you go about finding that group of champions that would help drive the change management and success of the project?

23:34 What are some of the common fears that come up during change management, and how do you address those concerns? 

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