5 Tips for Data Governance and Strategy

As data is increasingly driving business decisions, organizations are faced with the difficult job of maintaining compliance while being sure they don’t get bogged down by the sheer amount of data.

Your data strategy can mean the difference between a smooth transition and being blindsided by a data breach or data mismanagement.

With a data governance strategy and its execution plan in place, the right decisions about which data is needed, where it resides, and how it is used to make strategic business decisions become much easier.

Data governance and strategy aren’t usually two words we associate together, but the reality is that in today’s digital world, data quality and governance matter as much as anything else. It is no longer enough to just store information about your company. You must make sure you know what data is being stored, where it is stored, and what you need to do to protect it. In addition to keeping up with data regulations like the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), companies must also ensure that their data is accurate, well-organized, and secure.

At the heart of any digital transformation initiative is a set of data governance principles that ensure the integrity of the data that is captured, stored, and processed as part of the effort.

We’ve seen it first hand: when companies struggle with data governance and strategy. This is a common issue that plagues startups and SMBs, especially as they try to grow into large enterprises. But while this is a challenge, it’s not a reason to give up on your vision or goals. By building a robust data governance and strategy framework, you can take a step back and let your business naturally guide itself towards its destination. Here’s what you need to get started.

1. Find out what data you have, who owns it, what’s missing, and what’s valuable

The best way to approach data governance is to determine what your goals are as an organization, and then figure out the steps you need to take in order to achieve those goals. At a minimum, you need to determine your data sources, and then identify what you know, what you don’t know, and what you need to do to fill in the gaps.

Data governance is about the people, processes, and technology that you use to manage, analyze, store, and distribute all the data that is generated within and outside your organization.

It’s important to understand what data you have, and who owns it. Once you’ve identified this information, think about what data would be valuable for your business.

2. Figure out where data needs to go

Data is an important part of your business. But it can also be a huge headache if it doesn’t move quickly to its intended destination.