Data Governance and your business

Data Governance can seem a really daunting term but if you want to run a business or organisation successfully, you really do need to get to grips with this topic.

What is Data Governance?

Data governance (DG) is the overall management of the availability, usability, integrity and security of the data you use. Data is that great business term for information.  When you think about it, data is collected and used by businesses and organisations in numerous ways. If you get it right it means you have precise systems to handle that data in given sets of circumstances. It also means everyone is clear on their rights and responsibilities when it comes to data.

What happens without it?

As the amounts of data within a business or organisation increase, lack of data governance quickly leads to chaos. You may think you can get away without working on this  but you really cannot do so if you want to appear professional and vitally remain within the law. The likelihood is that you probably are already doing some data governance without even realising it! You are at the start of a journey that can bring huge benefits to your business.

Business benefits

Don’t you just love the word clarity? I always think if things are clear, everyone knows where they stand and feels so much better. This applies in family relationships, friendship groups and business.

Getting back to our topic, if everyone in an organisation knows exactly how data is to be handled, it speeds things up and makes for a more efficient and professional business.

This means you have that reassurance that you are obeying the law, that your data is secure and that people within the organisation are using it efficiently to achieve business outcomes and overall success.

How do I get started?

You need to go back to basics like you do when you are writing a press release. Who will handle the data? What types of data? How will it be handled? When will it be handled? Where will it be handled? Then consider why it is best for the data to be governed in these ways. If you are ever unsure you can always get some data governance consultants to help you with this.

It is perfectly OK and recommended to start with baby steps and to celebrate the wins from those along the way. You need to ensure data governance is on your agenda and then come up with clear and measurable goals so you can work out if you are making progress to great data governance.

What  can help?

It helps if you have a good culture in your business where you check that systems work for all staff and stakeholders. There are tools out there that can help you with all this so if you are a beginner in this area, fear not! As already mentioned you probably are already doing a degree of data governance without knowing it and were just not aware of the label for what you already do.

Are you ready to nail data governance and work towards increased business success?