WEEK 1 WRAP UP: The Post Office Horizon Scandal, a Zeal of Zebras and What They All Have in Common

Welcome to Week 1 of the 12 DAYta’s of Christmas.

If your feed this week included the Post Office Horizon scandal, a breakdown of evidence governance and a migrating zeal of zebras, you might have wondered how any of it connects.

It does.
And the connection matters.

Because each story showed a different side of the same problem:
data can only support you if it is organised, visible and trusted. 

Here is a quick recap of what we covered.

Day 1: The Post Office Horizon scandal in 60 seconds

Reel link: https://www.linkedin.com

We began with Horizon because it remains one of the clearest examples of what happens when organisations lose control of their evidence.

Missing documentation.
Broken telemetry.
Audit trails that could not be verified.

People were harmed because the system was treated as infallible.

The lesson is simple:

If you cannot trust your evidence, you cannot trust the decisions built on top of it.

Day 2: Why leaders cannot rely on data they cannot see

On Day 2 we explored the deeper structural issue behind Horizon.

Full article: https://assureddigitaltech.com/news

It was not only a technical failure.
It was a visibility failure.

Leaders trusted reports without knowing how that data was created or what sat beneath it.
Processes ran on assumptions instead of clarity.

The takeaway:

You need visibility into your data layers before you can rely on them.

This is the foundation for governance, security and AI readiness.

Day 3: The herd knows best

Reel link: https://www.linkedin.com

Then we shifted to the Serengeti.

A lone zebra wandering off is vulnerable.
A well organised zeal survives because it moves with structure, pattern and discipline.

This mirrors three essential behaviours in data governance:

Classify. Curate. Control. 

Classify what belongs together.
Curate it so it becomes usable and consistent.
Control how it moves so nothing drifts into risk.

It is a simple metaphor, but it captures a real organisational truth:

Data fails when it becomes scattered and unmanaged.
Data succeeds when everything works together.

Why these three stories belong together

Week 1 combined a national scandal, a governance breakdown and a zebra migration for a reason.

Each one shows what happens when structure disappears.
Each one shows the impact of losing sight of how your data behaves.
And each one points to the same conclusion:

Strong data foundations make your organisation safer, clearer and far more resilient. 

Reliable evidence.
Better decision making.
Stronger security.
Trusted inputs for AI.

It all begins with the basics: organisation, visibility and alignment.

What comes next

Week 1 set the groundwork.
Next week we take these ideas further, moving into the behaviours and risks that shape modern organisations.

More lessons.
More clarity.
More practical ways to strengthen your data, cyber and AI foundations.

And maybe… more zebras.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.