A More Inclusive Approach to Data Governance
Gartner recently released a research note focused on mid-size enterprises (MSE) and their journey with data and analytics governance. The note states, “Midsize enterprises struggle with data and analytics governance because traditional approaches are not suited to their environment.” The importance of leveraging and protecting data is not a question in any executive’s mind. Large enterprises are not the only organizations entitled to data and all its many benefits. MSEs should be just as equipped, so why aren’t they?
Data is everywhere and growing. A while ago, IBM shared that 2.7 zettabytes of data exists in our digital universe and 35 zettabytes will be added annually by 2020. All these pieces of information are about people, their habits, and the things they like to do. Every business should be vested in how best to use data about their customers, and how customers engage with their products and services, to maximize business outcomes.
These outcomes could be to create the greatest business opportunities, gain a competitive advantage, sustain business value or explore new technology. To have a chance at achieving any of this, data must be collected, processed and understood by the humans (and machines) that run a business. Context, reliability and accuracy are important for understanding data so the collection process for any data must consider these if the data will be useful for analyses or any further use. Let’s also not forget that behind all of this data are people. And when people are involved security and privacy should also be taken into the highest account by anyone with access to this information.
Organizations are tasked with capturing, respecting, securing, and understanding in context, all data it collects. This includes its content, reach, volume, usage and impact, all to best amplify business results. This hefty mandate, how organizations deal with all aspects of the data they collect, is exactly what data governance is today.
According to Gartner, a key challenge in MSEs for data governance frameworks is that they are predominantly “hard wired,” requiring a level of investment the company cannot sustain. The firm also notes the solutions available on the market for data governance are not the ones MSEs need - current providers follow hard-wired approaches which are process-centric, control-orientated, compliance-driven, risk-averse solutions. Gartner proposes we should have product-centric, adaptive, contextual, platform-oriented, dynamic and risk-aware solutions. So where are these providers?
At AfterData we envision a more data-driven future for MSEs. We offer a single platform with data cataloging, data stewardship, master data management, and security, privacy and compliance features, all made easy with our innovative visual network-based data representation. Our experience tells us that organizations achieve true data governance when they can discover and explore relevant datasets, understand how they connect to each other and how they fit the business context, dynamically engaging all areas of business & IT, instead of burdening a few to figure it all out. Our unique data discovery platform enables all members of your organization to see your data so that they can contribute adequately to the level of data governance that’ll generate your desired business outcome. Your efforts and investment for entry into data governance are simplified with AfterData. If you’d like to know what your data looks like today, AfterData is here to help.
Because after data, comes knowledge.
