What CIOs think about data governance

In my conversations with CIOs a couple years ago, there was a bit of shying away from the subject of data governance. However, much has changed in the last few years with the CIO role. This includes, of course, the emergence of the chief data officer.

CIOs say that part of the issue with data stewardship has been the debate over who owns the system versus who owns the data. CIOs say this is why it is an essential that the businesses and IT partner on data governance.

CIOs suggest there is a significant difference between data ownership and data governance. Some CIOs assert here that if the champion for a function is in another organization, this does not mean the CIO has shied away from responsibility. For these CIOs, IT should be a strong partner. They insist that all the CIOs they know are actively engaged in data governance.

CIOs claim as well that those winning in digital transformation know that ensuring quality, accurate, and secure data is critical. Once data and analytics became mission critical and required for competitive reasons, one CIO said, I think most CIOs increased their interest. But having said this, CIOs say that many still don’t have active data governance programs. CIOs add that there is very little data over which CIOs are “data trustees.” CIOs are more likely to be helping, advising and serving others in the organization.

CIOs believe that CIOs will pigeonhole themselves as technical CIOs if that do not get after what needs to be fixed with data. One CIO said here that not acting will cause somebody else to do all the cool stuff. Want to be a business leader and make a difference for your company? You must be involved in all things data.

In my conversations with CIOs a couple years ago, there was a bit of shying away from the subject of data governance. However, much has changed in the last few years with the CIO role. This includes, of course, the emergence of the chief data officer.

CIOs say that part of the issue with data stewardship has been the debate over who owns the system versus who owns the data. CIOs say this is why it is an essential that the businesses and IT partner on data governance.

CIOs suggest there is a significant difference between data ownership and data governance. Some CIOs assert here that if the champion for a function is in another organization, this does not mean the CIO has shied away from responsibility. For these CIOs, IT should be a strong partner. They insist that all the CIOs they know are actively engaged in data governance.

CIOs claim as well that those winning in digital transformation know that ensuring quality, accurate, and secure data is critical. Once data and analytics became mission critical and required for competitive reasons, one CIO said, I think most CIOs increased their interest. But having said this, CIOs say that many still don’t have active data governance programs. CIOs add that there is very little data over which CIOs are “data trustees.” CIOs are more likely to be helping, advising and serving others in the organization.

CIOs believe that CIOs will pigeonhole themselves as technical CIOs if that do not get after what needs to be fixed with data. One CIO said here that not acting will cause somebody else to do all the cool stuff. Want to be a business leader and make a difference for your company? You must be involved in all things data.

CIOs think that getting control over data governance is part of achieving better alignment regarding business initiatives/outcomes. They say, for this reason, that today’s IT organization must engage in data governance.

Unfortunately, many IT organizations are ill equipped to do so. Change for this reason is needed. CIOs believe data governance is the biggest opportunity for CIOs to gain strategic influence. At the same time, they believe that IT is technically best to lead the data governance charge. With this said, CIOs say data stewards need to be a business function of the data owners.