Data Estate Audit: Stop Guessing, Start Knowing
Executive-level guidance from Buck Woody on your data landscape so that you can invest with confidence in the platforms, tools, and strategies that drive real growth.
Trusted by 100+ Teams Since 2009
The Data Leadership Gap Is Costing You
Falling Behind: Your competitors are pulling ahead while you’re paralyzed by data you can’t trust and trapped inside systems you don’t understand.
Drowning in Data: You’re collecting massive amounts of data but struggling to turn it into actionable insights that drive decisions.
Can’t Afford a Full-Time CDO: Executive data leadership costs $200K–$400K+ annually, putting it out of reach for many organizations.
Compliance & Security Risks: Without proper governance, you’re exposed to regulatory violations, security breaches, and data quality issues — whether you’re navigating HIPAA, SOC2, NCUA exams, or board-level scrutiny.
How life changes when you unlock the value of your data…
An executive-grade, expert-verified picture of your data landscape with the questions you actually need answered.
What You Get
Data Estate Audit Framework
A 4-week rapid assessment from 39-year data & technology veteran Buck Woody that gives you clarity, confidence, and a prioritized path forward.
Data Landscape Audit
We inventory what you have, where it lives, and what shape it’s in.
Data Maturity Scorecard
Backup job history and coverage, restore test validation, CHECKDB schedules, page-level corruption detection, and RPO/RTO alignment to actual configuration.
Configuration & Best Practice
An honest assessment across 6 key dimensions.
Prioritized Recommendations
Tied directly to business value, not technical wishlist.
90-day Quick-Win Roadmap
Actionable steps you can take immediately.
Executive Presentation
A deliverable you can take to your board.
How It Works
Four weeks. Real answers.
Fit and framing
We start with a short call to understand the scope, goals, and determine whether this assessment is the right tool for the questions you’re trying to answer.
Stakeholder interviews
We meet with data owners and leaders across platforms and functions to understand decisions, friction, and competing narratives.
Analysis and synthesis
We assess what we learn against our scorecard, focusing on decision rights, operating model, and architectural tradeoffs.
Scorecard and report
We produce a clear scorecard and written assessment outlining strengths, concerns, and the implications of staying on the current path.
Delivery and alignment
We walk leadership through the findings so you leave with a shared understanding and a practical data roadmap.
Your Advisor
Meet Buck Woody
Chief Data Officer, Straight Path Solutions
Buck brings four decades of experience in data and technology. He comes to Straight Path by way of Microsoft, where he spent years on the Azure Data Services team helping organizations solve complex data problems.
He’s authored over 700 articles and 9 books on databases, machine learning, and data strategy. He sits on Data Science advisory boards at two U.S. universities and speaks at conferences worldwide.
When you work with Straight Path, you get Buck’s experience directly — not a junior consultant reading from a playbook.
Who Is This For?
Is this right for you?
This audit is designed for organizations at a crossroads with their data.
Mid-Market Companies
Growing organizations that need executive data leadership but can’t justify a $300K+ full-time CDO. You’re collecting more data than ever, but lack the strategic framework to leverage it.
Perfect for: Companies with 100–1,000 employees, multiple data sources, and growth plans that depend on better data.
IT Leaders Seeking Alignment
You see the data problems clearly, but need an expert voice from the outside to validate findings and help your team recommend solutions that leadership will trust. You need a deliverable that builds consensus – not just another report.
Perfect for: CTOs, VPs of IT, and data teams who need an outside voice to validate what they already know — and get it funded.
Organizations Preparing for AI
You’re being told to “do AI” but you know your data isn’t ready. You need someone to honestly assess your AI readiness and tell you what foundational work must happen first to avoid being in the headlines for another breach.
Perfect for: Organizations exploring AI but uncertain whether their data infrastructure can support it.
Companies Who’ve Been Burned
You’ve already spent money on data projects that went nowhere. You need a trusted advisor who doesn’t subscribe to the big-firm “land and multiply” methodology. You want the truth about what’s possible and what’s not worth pursuing.
Perfect for: Organizations that have invested in analytics platforms or consultants without seeing results.
Take the Next Step
Ready to Transform Your Data Into a Strategic Asset?
Schedule a Call
Free consultation
30-minute initial call
Schedule a free 30-minute call with Buck Woody. We’ll discuss your situation, answer your questions, and assess whether we’re the right fit for each other.
Testimonials
Trusted by Teams Who Take Data Seriously
Whether it’s optimizing queries or server migrations, our clients rely on us to solve high-stakes SQL challenges.
Srey Timmer
Mathnasium
Valuable insights and reduced complexity
What I like best about working with Straight Path is their responsiveness, deep technical expertise, and how easy they are to collaborate with. They consistently provide valuable insights and make complex issues easier to manage.
Dan Spear
Vice President,
PCS
I 100% recommend
Their company culture is to work as if they are an extension of our team to our clients. They take on the responsibility of our SQL Server instances and make us look like heroes. They all take pride in doing great work and it is a joy to interact with everyone there.
Shawn Ansted
Senior Software Engineer,
S&S Activewear
A wonderful experience
The Straight Path team has excellent communication skills and proactively reaches out when there are issues. They always inform us exactly what is going on and what to expect. It is a wonderful experience in 2025, where I don’t think enough companies are as transparent as Straight Path.
John Dailey
Director Enterprise Systems,
Circle K
This is a great partnership
If you are an IT leader or tech lead, you tend to be siloed in your solution view. In this case for SQL Server, Straight Path works with many clients and sizes. They use that broad knowledge in their solution strategy with our SQL Server installations.
Frequently Asked Questions
This assessment is not a good fit for organizations looking for a quick fix without depth,a tool recommendation, or a one-day workshop. It also isn’t effective if leadership or data owners aren’t willing to participate directly. The value comes from alignment and shared understanding, not from delegating the work to a single team.
No. While Straight Path’s operational roots are in SQL Server, this assessment looks across your entire data ecosystem — platforms, pipelines, governance, reporting, ownership, and how data decisions are made across the organization. SQL Server is included where it’s relevant, but it is not treated as the default center of gravity. The focus is alignment and decision-making, not any single technology.
This is a fixed-scope audit designed to stand on its own. It is not open-ended consulting, and it does not require a follow-on engagement. The goal is clarity and alignment, not ongoing advisory work.
This process requires participation from executive leadership and the primary data owners. That’s intentional; the work only has value when the people who set direction and own decisions are in the room. We keep involvement focused and efficient, and help identify the right participants during the fit call.
You receive a scorecard, a written assessment, and a leadership walkthrough. Any next steps are optional and entirely up to you. Many organizations use the assessment on its own to inform internal planning.
Organizations with real data assets, multiple stakeholders, and growing pressure from cost, compliance, scale, data sprawl, or AI-related initiatives.