The Value of revAlation to the Alation Customer Community

I vividly remember the first time I had to stand before a large group and talk about Alation. I was training a group of 35 people, and it was by far the largest group I’d spoken to about Alation up to that point. I was so nervous that I typed out a script so I would remember what to say and which steps to make sure I covered (a practice I still encourage today for training consistency). 

Since then, I’ve attended four revAlation conferences and spoken at three of them. Each time, I’ve made invaluable connections and learned great tips from peers and Alationauts. Some key things I’ve learned from past revAlations include:

• The value of branding your catalog and building an internal marketing campaign to foster a data community.

• By embedding your catalog training program within your broader data literacy and data training program, the catalog will feel like an integral part of your data ecosystem.

• Use the catalog as the hub for building a data culture so that all data-related information flows through the catalog.

• Include data curation in job descriptions and expectations so it is recognized and valued as a “first-class” skill.

After revAlation, I could take the things I had learned and put them into practice immediately. If I needed to know more later, my peers were just a Community post away. That’s what I love about revAlation. It provides insight into the technology and the processes for building a data-driven company, and more importantly, it shines a light on the central role people play in developing a data-driven culture. 

When I attended 2023 revAlation in Chicago, I was excited to gather again with the Alation Community, but this time, it was different. Instead of attending as a customer, I was there as an Alationaut for the first time. But I was still listening and learning from all of our community members because now, instead of using revAlation to learn how to encourage my data users to embrace a data culture, I learned how I can help our Alation customers, through the Alation Help Center and our rich information resources, build a data culture in their organizations.

Curious to learn more about driving data culture with a community? Book a demo with us today.