Data Governance Is for Everyone!

This week we are discussing the importance of Data Governance.

First, let’s understand what Data Governance is. Data Governance is how one manages the availability, usability, and security of the data throughout their company. This step is something that too many organizations ignore, especially smaller-sized companies.

However, having a structured guide on your data allows a company to have enhanced business operations. Most importantly, it can help limit data breaches.

There are many little first steps a company can take to create a robust Data Governance. Below are some examples:

1. A financial institution ensures no PII information about customers is sent over enterprise email.

• The last thing a company would want is to have their client’s SSN and account numbers compromised during an email breach.

2. Have a Data Dictionary for your organization:

• A Data Dictionary will ensure that there won’t be a million definitions for words used throughout your company, and everybody will be on the same page.

3. Make sure the right people have the correct role rules to get their job done.

• People within a company should not have more admin privileges than they need in any program your company uses. This limit will help limit the number of mistakes an individual can make and ensure a limit on the harm they can cause if they become disgruntled.

4. Safeguard everything saved on the Network Drives or cloud versus local drives.

• This helps protect documents from being accessed and saved regardless of if something compromises a computer.

Data Governance is not a luxury but a necessity. Data breaches are becoming increasingly common, and many companies could have avoided these breaches if the proper data governance policies had been enacted and practiced.

However, it is crucial to understand that creating Data Governance for an organization cannot happen overnight. Company leaders must take baby steps within the organization to get their culture accustomed to that mindset and its significance.

Companies often hire an individual to assist with Data Governance. These people are called Data Stewards. While not compulsory, it truly has great benefits because Data Stewards are often subject matter experts in data framework and security.

Having solid Data Governance will improve all aspects of your business operations. It is something that all companies need to be successful and efficient while protecting the interests and privacy of their clients.