Why a single source of truth (SSOT) is important for reporting

What is a single source of truth (SSOT)?

A single source of truth (SSOT) is a method used to ensure that stakeholders in a business are basing their decisions using the same data. Creating a single source of truth is pretty straightforward. To ensure an SSOT is in place, a business must provide relevant stakeholders with one source that stores the data points they need.

Data-driven decision making has emphasised never-before-seen levels of importance on collecting, analysing and distributing data. While acting on data-based business intelligence is needed for competitive brands, companies are often spending too much time debating which numbers (from different sources) are the correct numbers to use. For example: metrics from social platforms may give one impression of a company’s target demographics while online questionnaires may say something entirely different. How are leaders to decide what data points to use in such a scenario?

Identifying a single source of truth prevents this problem. Instead of debating which data sources will be used for making company decisions, everyone can use the same, unified source for all their data needs.

At McKenzie Williams we’ve seen SSOT discussions arise when clients have chosen to integrate Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software as part of their Marketing Technology suite to improve sales, support their business operations and must now use these systems as the single source of truth.

Let’s take a look at some reasons a SSOT is important:‍

• All stakeholders have access to the same data to make important decisions.
• Less time is wasted worrying about which version of data should be used in the decision-making process.
• Poor data can lead to stakeholders duplicating efforts which can be costly for a business.
• Lack of consistent data is very stressful for decision makers.
• Deadlines can be negatively impacted if you don’t have a single source of truth.

At McKenzie Williams our experience shows us that lack of stakeholder buy-in will prevent the successful adoption of any single source of truth project. You can prevent this from happening by working with your business management team to ensure that they all understand the importance of having a single source of truth in the business and are able to communicate this importance to their teams.

Unfortunately you can’t avoid uncertainty on how stakeholders feel about what the data is actually telling them about the business. However, to help mitigate these scenarios, stakeholders need to see through the “noise” and use overarching data to make considered decisions.

​McKenzie Williams is a Marketing Integrator, embracing Digital Workplace Transformation to provide businesses with a senior, remote workforce you can trust.
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