Data Governance or DG process is designed to manage the data accessibility, usability, reliability, and security of an enterprise system. It is based on the internal data criteria and policies controlling the data usage. An efficient DG program ensures that the information is consistent as well as reliable and will not be misused.
Significance of data governance
Data is power, which offers better insight that helps to make major business decisions. A company attains plenty of external data and creates/updates lots of internal data. Therefore data needs to be governed using rules, enforcement, and management. It ensures that businesses obtain reliable data-driven information used to plan crucial processes, accounting, and decision-making.
- It enhances efficiency and saves valuable time. For example, duplicate accounts tracking is time-consuming, which is reduced with DG management.
- It clearly defines core data and policies to govern this core data. Enforcement of core data policies ensures that everyone is aligned, which enhances operational efficiency.
- It breaks down the departmental silos.
- It offers clarity that accompanies accuracy and confidence in analytics.
- It creates shared language that departments across understand.
- It offers a collaborative framework, where teams from different departments communicate using the same data analysis and terminology.
- It makes the company data meaningful by establishing controls, defining terminology, identifying responsibilities, etc.
DG framework includes rules, processes, policies, technologies, and organizational structures. The program’s mission, goals, metrics, responsibilities, and liabilities are also defined clearly. The framework is documented to be shared internally so that everyone involved is aware of the programs working right from the start.
EWSolutions Consultancy offers automated data governance software to manage the DG program. The tool supports collaboration, workflow management, data catalog creation, process documentation, governance policies development, and more. EWSolutions has more than 20 years of experience in enterprise data governance assessment. The assessment reviews current status against industry standards to identify target future positions. A future road map is created based on your organization’s technical and non-technical goals and needs.
DG assessment helps businesses measure their maturity and growth in a specific area or prepare for a new effort. Several companies request data management valuation to determine –
- The position of technology and business competencies for Metadata management.
- The readiness to develop business intelligence or data warehouse initiative.
- Enterprise data status or data management capabilities including DG and stewardship.
- The willingness for embarking on organizational or technical changes involving data management.
Instead of ignoring the assessment process due to fear, companies need to embrace this concept. It will help them learn what works and what doesn’t as well as how to enhance DG efforts.
DG training is a necessary initiative, especially to familiarize data analysts and business users with the privacy mandates, rules, and responsibilities associated with data usage to ensure data consistency. Ongoing communication with business executives, managers, and departments about DG program development is also essential through an email newsletter, reports, workshops, etc.
The initial implementation phase of DG efforts is hard because different departments in an organization have diverging views regarding main data units like the products or customers. For an effective DG program, this distinctiveness needs to be resolved via agreement on common data formats and definitions.
