Data Governance Framework: Everything you Need to Know

Data is the central commodity of the 21st century. Every organization wants to use it to drive the business forward. To fruitfully use it to power plans and strategies, they need to consider a 360-degree approach towards data. Understanding what purposes data should solve is extremely important to achieve success. Obtaining value from raw data to derive insights that drive results gives companies a competitive edge. The strength of a firms’ data governance depends on how well they handle their information and what value they derive from it.

The 2019 Data Management report states that data governance is among the top five strategies for global companies in 2019. Upcoming technology trends like Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, and automation bank heavily on information to produce good results. Hence, data governance is a strategy that’s likely to stay relevant in the coming years.

Defining Data Governance Framework

A data governance framework means constructing a model for handling companies’ data. This outline sets directions of engagement for companies and management actions, especially those that deal with the production and manipulation of data. DGI (Data Governance Institute) states that this framework helps various stakeholders recognize and fulfill information requirements. Furthermore, they emphasize that simply possessing data management systems are not enough. These systems need to be accompanied by rules and regulations for improved data governance.

Why you Need this Framework?

Here’s why you should invest in data governance: -

1. Experian states 95 percent of high-ranking executives believe that data is critical for decision making in business planning.
2. Furthermore, 49 percent of companies state human intervention causes bad data.
3. 89 percent of all top executives agree that inaccurate data impedes customer relations.

This framework will help you in the subsequent areas: -

1. Management — Data governance ensures the higher management manages corporate data assets, the value they carry, and the impact they have on a company’s operations and market prospects.
2. Finance — Efficient data governance helps the finance department consistently report accurate data.
3. Sales — For Sales, data governance gives a deeper insight into customer behavior and helps formulate strategies with a high success rate.
4. Procurement — Using accurate data and business ecosystems, the procurement team can reduce costs and improve operational efficiency.
5. Production — Data governance helps production departments implement and take advantage of automation.
6. Legal — Having accurate data at disposal makes legal teams meet constantly changing regulations.

Data Governance gives you cleaner, filtered, and useful data in the desired format that acts as a valuable input for analytical tools. These analytical tools then provide deeper insights for improved decision-making.

Data Governance Objectives

Here’s a list of all things you can accomplish using data governance: -

1. Make confident data-driven decisions
2. Fulfill regulatory compliance issues
3. Enhance data security measures
4. Specify and check data distribution policies
5. Monetize data to generate profits
6. Improve planning capabilities by avoiding data cleansing processes for each preparation purpose
7. Improve staff efficiency by offering data assets that fulfill desired data quality
8. Check and enhance by elevating the data governance level one by one

Stakeholders Involved in Building a Data Governance Framework

Constructing a data governance framework requires the entire organization’s efforts. Successful transformation of data management practices involves the constructive involvement of the firms’ brightest stakeholders. Here are some common roles critical to the process: -

1. Data Owners — They are responsible for making and enforcing decisions across the company. Appointing these roles on an entity level (such as consumer records, product records, employee records) is a smart move. These owners are also accountable for the state of information as an advantage.
2. Data Stewards — These subject matter experts enforce data governance policies and standards on a day-to-day basis. Either they take care of data as an asset or advise others in the organization.
3. Data Custodians — These operators ensure easy business and technical onboarding and maintenance to the data assets.
4. Data Governance Committee — This committee approves data policies and handles emergency data integrity issues.

The Data Governance Framework

The framework helps different departments among organizations reconcile with each other on how they wish to handle data. DGI’s framework has 10 crucial components. They are: -

Starting with the ‘Why’

Stating your mission and vision should be your first step in getting closer to your data governance reality. This action clarifies why you’re undertaking this humongous task and helps get your team on board.

Get Specific with ‘What’ and ‘How’

Once your mission is set, chalk out a plan on how you’ll execute your vision. Here’s how you plan to clarify your vision: -

1. Specify data governance objectives, metrics to monitor success, and funding sources
2. Define rules and regulations on issues you can anticipate
3. Delegate decision-making responsibilities, accountability to the right authorities
4. Establish control mechanisms to monitor future data issues

Optimize your processes with ‘When’

Your main goal should be to set up a standard and repeatable processes with technology. This integration eases and optimizes your data governance processes. This outcome ultimately decides the chances of your success with this framework.

Final Thoughts

Building a data governance framework is a long-term process and needs attention. Data Management is crucial for businesses and helps you get the most value out of your data. So, use technology to establish a rock-solid data foundation and grow your company.