Qlik, the data and analytics company based in King of Prussia, believes everyone in an organization can and should become data literate, because every single business decision should be data driven. As such, the company offers more than 50,000 global customers a platform that allows them to make meaningful discoveries with data that lead to strategic outcomes.

Data literacy is the ability to read, work with, analyze, and argue with data. According to Qlik’s Jordan Morrow, “data literacy is a skill everyone can learn and improve on that will empower us to understand data and information better, in order to make a data-informed decision.”

Morrow’s official title is Qlik’s Global Head of Data Literacy, though he prefers the less formal nickname, Chief Nerd Officer.

“I’m very fond of saying that not everyone needs to be a data scientist, but everyone needs to be data literate,” he said. “The world that we’re living in requires everybody to be comfortable using data. Our program is designed to entitle and enable everybody to ask questions of data, be comfortable having conversations about data, and be able to make decisions using data, versus old ways of doing things.”

Qlik’s studies show that only one out of five people have data literacy skills, which means that 80 percent of the population is not confident in using data. A key reason so many have an inadequate skillset, according to Morrow, is that companies and vendors have either bought or sold certain technologies that have been forced on their employees.

“All the while they are forgetting that if their workforce is not comfortable with data, they are not going to use those tools or technologies,” he said.

Qlik advocates an outcome-driven approach for those investing in data and technology, knowing that the majority of the companies they have encountered do not have a data strategy that is tied to their business goals or outcomes.

“The outcome should be the starting point,” said Morrow. “We want the data to do this, so let’s work toward that. Everyone is enamored with all the data we are producing, but the reality is, unless we’re teaching people how to ask questions and how to drive outcomes, the data doesn’t have any value.”

Data literacy for everyone is Qlik’s No. 1 priority, which it tries to achieve through products that make analytics accessible to all users. The company has a resource library, for example, of free online learning, as well as several free trials and tutorials.

When companies reach out to Qlik for more insight into data literacy, they are offered an hour-long in-person or virtual workshop, also for free.

“The workshop is designed all around the topic of data literacy,” said Morrow. “Why it matters, why it has become so big an issue throughout the world, and what organizations can do to alleviate a lack of data literacy.”

Organizations that want to take the next step are offered a fee-based approach with a data literacy consultant who helps the company build a data literacy initiative, create ideas, and guide their workforce on how to succeed with it.

Data literacy, however, is not just for businesses, but can be a valuable component in a child’s education.

“I have been brought in at the university level and high school level,” said Morrow, “and now questions are coming to me about students at an even younger age. Should we approach things differently? Should we be teaching differently? My answer is absolutely yes!”

As with their business model, Qlik’s blueprint is to teach from an outcome-based approach where students can actually see how they will use what they learn in real life.

“It’s not just an answer using a math formula,” he said. “It’s more about critical thinking on data, critical thinking on math, asking questions of the information to find how you get to the outcome.”

Of course, Morrow doesn’t discount the human element in using data to succeed, whether on a business or individual level. He likens data to oil that has to go through people to get refined before it sees value.

“We’re not trying to rid people of their gut feelings,” he said. “We want to take your gut feelings and look at it with the data and see where we can come up with solutions. I love helping people see the power that data has, and we want to give people skills that not only empower them in their careers but in their individual lives.”

To contact Jordan Morrow, call 385-243-4566.

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