Buzzword: “Single Version of the Truth”

26. May 2008 by Rick Abbott.

I was once a firm believer of the SVT concept, and I still believe in the fundamental principals.  But it’s not as cut and dried as people make it out to be.

On it’s face, a SVT seems to be a noble goal.  Who doesn’t support the truth, right?  The problem is, who defines what the truth really is, and in this case “the truth” maybe different depending on your audience.  I’ll give you a simplistic example: who is your customer, where are they located, and how valuable are they to your company? If you’re in sales, the customer is the one who made the decision to buy your company’s product and pays the bill.  If you’re in engineering or customer support, the customer is the person using your product and is requesting service enhancements or technical support.  That’s the easy part, determining the value of the customer is more difficult, and involves a number of variables that may or may not apply depending on where you sit within the organization.

These are certainly not insurmountable issues by any stretch, but they underscore the nuance required in getting to the “truth”.

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