Making data governance a part of your culture


  • BLOG
  • July 29th, 2019
  •   4921 Views

One of the many aftereffects of BREXIT will be a defiance of pre-defined rules for global data protection, paving the way for a new phase of data governance. While the UK is contemplating whether to be more liberal or stringent than EU standards, organizations are compelled to relook at their privacy and security policy.

Going forward, companies will have to be more mindful of where their data is flowing.  We recently released a report on “State of Analytics and Decision Science”, which reveals that most organizations prefer centralized model of analytics and data governance, even though such a model is known to lack agility.

However, this trend is bound to change and successful organizations will embrace a more balanced approach to governance. That new, more balanced era of data governance won’t be just about new tools, roles, policies, or strategy, (although these are vital for its implementation), it will be about cultivating data governance within the culture of the organization.

To include data governance as part of company culture, organizations require a brand-new admiration for this facet of business. An effective data strategy as well as protocols around data usage need to be a part of business strategy. A dedicated team responsible for data governance, equipped with contemporary technologies need to be formed. This will, in turn drive everyone in the organization to accept data governance as part of the agenda.

Governance team

Cultivating a “governance” culture

Contemporary technologies

  • Awareness of governance responsibilities on the part of all those utilizing data

  • A hybrid or federated model of data governance where BUs are afforded the flexibility with data, however a central governing body establishes standards around it and enforces them

  • A dedicated CDO (Chief data officer) which will formalize data governance as a priority within the company culture and establish a singular degree of responsibility

  • Next gen data Governance tools with increased business support, reporting and auditing capabilities, better UI, social media friendly, inbuilt analytics capabilities

  • Creating checks as part of governance measures specifically set up for mobile devices to track data movement from the enterprise to mobile devices

  • Integration of governance and data quality to account for security concerns that big data brings

 

Incorporating Data Governance as part of company’s culture needs a change in behavior around data usage. It can only start with an acceptance of data as a strategic and valuable asset to the organization, which can impact business objective when governed well.