A data team that only consults will never scale. A data team that only builds will never be used.
Most data teams operate like internal consultancies. Someone asks for a report. The team builds it. Someone asks for a metric. The team defines it. Repeat forever.
This feels productive. Stakeholders are happy. The backlog grows. But nothing you build gets reused.
According to research, 68% of digital projects fail because departments don’t align priorities. Data teams fail for a simpler reason: they confuse service with product.
A consulting model is reactive. Every request is unique. Every output is bespoke. Knowledge stays in heads. When people leave, capability leaves with them.
A product model is proactive. You build once. You document. You version. You scale. The same effort serves ten teams instead of one.
The shift isn’t about technology. It’s an architectural decision. You’re choosing between a service desk and a platform.
Most teams drift into consultancy mode because it’s the path of least resistance. Nobody sat down and decided “let’s answer the same questions forever.” It just happened.
That’s why this needs to be a deliberate choice - made at the leadership level, with clear trade-offs.
Data consultancy solves today’s problem. Data products solve tomorrow’s. The question is which one your team is actually doing - and whether that’s a strategy or an accident.
Is your data team solving the same problems on repeat, or building things that compound?