What's the real purpose of a data team?

[Quick recap]Over the last few months, I’ve interviewed dozens of thoughtful and experienced data leaders on how they create and manage great data teams. I am now attempting to consolidate their shared wisdom into a collection of articles on everything from leadership, the rise of AI, how they structure and run their data teams, to all the lessons learned along the way.

As we kick off this series, it felt fitting to begin at the highest level -why do we have data teams at all?

Why this question matters

This question might seem superfluous in the face of real day-to-day challenges, so I wondered whether it was worth asking these data leaders at all. However, I found that the answer to this question, more than any other, spoke to the identity of these data teams. What I realized over the course of these interviews is that the purpose of your data team really does manifest in the daily felt experience of being on that team. It affects the structure, the people who get hired, the way you communicate, the work you choose to do and not do, the tools you use, etc.