Depending on how well it is managed, data can either be a valuable asset to an organization — or pose a significant threat. Poor data quality can have a substantial financial impact on a business. In fact, a recent Gartner study estimated that bad data costs companies an average of $12.9 million a year.
Add to this the importance of data security and the risk of data breaches, and it becomes clear why the data governance market is growing exponentially. More and more companies are adopting a data governance strategy, so if you haven’t already, there’s no time like the present.
What is data governance?
Data governance is an umbrella term that refers to the individuals, technologies, processes, and systems that manage an organization's data.
This means establishing who is responsible for your strategy, which may mean creating a dedicated data governance team. It will also require utilizing new tech and software to manage your data, such as data warehouse services. Elevate your business's efficiency and decision-making capabilities through strategic data warehouse implementation
Successful data governance ensures that data is of good quality, protected, and accessible.
Challenges of data governance
With the rise in remote working, you may already be familiar with challenges involving data management and security. Many organizations have had to learn how to protect data while working remotely while also ensuring it is readily accessible.
Data governance comes with a whole new set of challenges. It is a big task that has wide-ranging impacts on a business.
Impact on employees
One aspect of data governance is that it may require redrawing responsibilities and job roles. This means individual employees may be directly affected, which can cause pushback.
Convincing stakeholders
Unfortunately, a successful data governance initiative doesn’t come for free. Costs will include purchasing new software and hiring new personnel. Ensure the success of your business with a comprehensive software architecture review.
Persuading stakeholders to divert the necessary funds for its implementation can be a challenge. But the value you can gain outweighs the expenditure. We’ll go into more detail on that later.
Lack of resources
This doesn’t necessarily mean money, though that may be an issue itself. The reality is that data governance is complex and multi-faceted.
It requires a lot of planning and decision-making. This may mean a large amount of teamwork and dedicated hours before it even gets off the ground. For many organizations, investing a high level of resources may be a difficult decision.
Benefits of data governance
Though it’s true that data governance comes with challenges, the benefits more than make up for it. Strategies for furthering your organization can come in many forms — from increasing your social media presence to learning how to create a powerful business presentation.
But data governance is a guaranteed way to optimize every area of your organization.