Data governance is managing the usability, security, availability, and integrity of data within an organization using established and enforced rules and policies. Effective data governance ensures that data is consistent, accurate, secure, and not misused.
The value of Big Data comes from its capacity to make better and faster decisions. Choices made must be based on reliable information. Therefore, it is necessary to have a process in place to govern the news as it is analyzed. Data governance policies ensure that the right people have access to the data they need and that the information is not misused.
“The value of Big Data comes from its ability to make better and faster decisions.”
Why is it important?
Data governance is essential for any business that wants to use its data for analytics. It creates an environment where data can thrive as a source of actionable insights that enable the company to prosper. Without it, data cannot meet the quality standards required to extract actionable insights, or it could be subject to security threats that compromise its integrity and expose organizations to the risk of legal action.
Data governance improves reliability in all business areas of the organization and enables efficient data integration. For example, a distributor’s name may be mentioned differently in the purchasing office and the database. Analysts who have never interacted with the supplier can present data integration challenges.
Governance ensures consistency, and the analyst does not have to consult the departments that generate the data to understand it, it goes beyond the extraction and security of information by controlling who within the organization has access to the data and how. Therefore, it is crucial to understand what data is needed by each employee before establishing data access rules or policies internally.
Data governance is essential for any business that wants to use its data for analytics.
Objectives
The goal of data governance is to process and manage data resources. Data resources are used to drive decision-making and improve productivity. Data governance ensures that everyone in an organization uses the same data pool for different tasks, avoiding potential duplication and confusion that can lead to mistakes. It also provides a systematic approach to reviewing and authenticating data sources.
1. A key objective of data governance is to break down data silos in an organization.
2. To ensure that data is used correctly.
3. Improve data quality.
4. Ensure compliance.
Benefits
The benefits of data governance are many. It can successfully maintain privacy, avoid data leaks and prevent potential lawsuits. Companies cannot afford to not have a plan in place for managing and using their data because the potential risks of data loss and the consequences of data misuse can have severe legal and operational implications.
Data governance benefits a company in several ways. On the one hand, it provides an overarching policy for managing the organization’s data to comply with government mandates and industry standards. And on the other hand, it allows the enterprise to have better visibility into data sources and create greater transparency. Data governance is responsible for several tasks, such as setting up formalized data retention policies, training employees on how to use the information, and monitoring supplier updates.
Data protection regulations such as GDPR, PCI DSS, and US HIPAA are stringent in managing data. Breaking these laws can result in hefty fines and damage your reputation. Data governance takes enforcement into account from the outset, protecting organizations’ data.
Strong governance ensures that all data creation points operate with data quality as a priority, leading to an overall improvement in data quality within the organization.
Data governance functions as an address book for all data in the organization; this ensures that there is no data isolated by errors of commission or omission of the organization’s general rules and policies.
The code of conduct and rules established by governance ensure that data management becomes more accessible. It enables data security management and legal compliance.
Strong governance ensures that data is secure and in order when it is accessed and of better quality when it is created. Governance is vital for an organization that uses its data for analytics because it ensures the data’s consistency, integrity, and security. Improving data quality and proper information use increases organizational efficiency and saves users a lot of time.
To implement it successfully in an organization, data users must be trained on governance policies to ensure they understand what will be required of them. A number of tools and services help companies and organizations establish robust governance, providing a comprehensive framework to ensure that the value of data is enhanced and compliance is ensured.
Finally
Data governance is managing data assets in an organization to ensure that they are built, collected, and used responsibly. Data governance ensures that you can meet current and future business needs while maintaining compliance with privacy laws. To do this, it is critical to establish policies and procedures that govern how data is collected, accessed, protected, shared, retained, or deleted. This process will provide a framework to understand your company’s data needs better and identify solutions that align with your strategy.
At XalDigital we help develop a culture focused on data quality control, implementing the necessary policies and tools in the work team to maintain its value over time while optimizing its performance.
