In an ideal world, everyone knows where to find the resources and tools they need to be successful.

We don’t live in that world.

I’m not even sure we can see that world from here. But if we could see it, we’d be seeing it through a portal^[1].

One of the most common themes from my conversations with enterprise Power BI customers is that organizations that are successfully building and growing their data cultures have implemented portals where they share the resources, tools, and information that their users need. These mature companies also treat their portal as a true priority – the portal is a key part of their strategy, not an afterthought.

This is why:

In every organization of non-trivial size there are obstacles that keep people from finding and using the resources, information, and data they need.

Much of the time people don’t know what they need, nor do they know what’s available. They don’t know what questions to ask^[2], much less know where to go to get the answers. This isn’t their fault – it’s a natural consequence of working in a complex environment that changes over time on many different dimensions.

As I try to do in these accompanying-the-video blog posts I will let the video speak for itself, but there are a few key points I want to emphasize here as well.

1. You need a place where people can go for all of the resources created and curated by your center of excellence
2. You need to engage with your community of practice to ensure that you’re providing the resources they need, and not just the resources you think they need
3. You need to keep directing users to the portal, again and again and again, until it becomes habit and they start to refer their peers

The last point is worth emphasizing and explaining. If community members don’t use the portal, it won’t do what you need it to do, and you won’t get the return you need on your investments.

Users will continue to use traditional “known good” channels to get information – such as sending you an email or IM – if you let them. You need to not let them.

^[1] See what I did there?

^[2] Even though they will often argue vehemently against this fact.