Business is built on reliable data foundations. With the increasing volume of data gathered by businesses, establishing a robust foundation capable of managing and leveraging data can pose challenges. A well-executed data governance strategy is crucial for unlocking the insights necessary to steer decision-making, drive business innovation, and improve collaboration.
As you formulate a data governance strategy, it’s important to remember that data governance is not a technology; it’s an organizational commitment that involves people, processes, and technology. Here are five steps to applying a successful data governance strategy that will enable your business to unleash the power of your data and reap the rewards.
At its root, data governance centers on the people who build and apply it. So, the first step is to establish a core team of stakeholders and data stewards to do the preliminary work in creating a data governance framework.
This begins with performing an audit to identify issues with current data management policies and areas needing improvement. They can then design a business case for data governance, define guiding principles that pinpoint what’s important, and establish decision rights that identify what decisions need to be made, who will be involved in making them, and how they will be made. The core team can then form a governance council that includes executives whose data is being governed and stakeholders from all parts of the organization to ensure rules and procedures are cross-functional, which is a requirement for compliance. The council should clearly define roles and requirements:
The next step is to define the problems you’re looking to solve through data governance. Is it better regulatory compliance, increased data security, improved data quality, or all three? Within those broad areas, what are you attempting to achieve with your data? Here are some examples:
After creating your list, establish your priorities and start with those first. Identifying and restricting sensitive information is often a good place to start for compliance and security reasons.
Does your organization have the skills and technology needed to execute its data governance program? You’ll need people with skills in data modeling and architecture, business analysis, program and project management, database administration, and report development. You’ll also need tools for data modeling, data cataloging and management, data movement (for example, a data pipeline), data quality control, and data reporting and analysis.
Once you’ve assessed what you have, you’ll need to figure out how to fill the gaps. You can fill gaps by purchasing tools and hiring in-house specialists or by using partner tools and third-party specialists.
You’re now ready to inventory your data. What data do you have and where does it reside? Who has access and how do they use it? Companies often start with data modeling, which involves the use of diagrams, symbols, and textual references to represent the way the data flows through a software application or the data architecture within an enterprise.
A centralized metadata repository, which stores descriptive information about the data such as its meaning, source, and relative quality, will help you locate and secure your most sensitive data. It will also help you understand and manage the lifecycle of your data so you can ensure its proper disposal at the end of life.
As your company’s data grows, you will need to continue to establish rules and procedures around its governance. Data governance is not just a project you can launch and then wrap up in an 18-month period. It is a continuous organizational commitment that needs to grow and adapt to new compliance regulations, business needs, and security challenges. Creating a permanent data governance team and structure to meet those challenges will help ensure the future success of your organization.
If you need help crafting a data governance strategy that lays the foundation for efficient data management and maximizes the value of your data assets, reach out to Concord. We're here to support your data governance journey and ensure your business thrives in the data-driven landscape.
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