Data Governance: the weakest link in organizations

In a world that’s ever more connected and digital, data governance has become a critical challenge for companies. Yet many still struggle to build robust, effective data governance. Often referred to as the weakest link in organizations, data governance has significant impacts on performance, security and innovation capacity. Put simply, it remains a major hurdle companies must tackle - and soon.

THE SIZEABLE CHALLENGE OF DATA COMPLEXITY AND VOLUME

With the advent of Big Data and ever more complex information systems, businesses face an explosion of data from countless sources - both internal and external.

Such data is often unstructured and can be massive, making it tough to manage or organize. Data governance requires setting rules, policies and processes to ensure data integrity, quality and confidentiality.

But tracking and controlling all this data gets complicated as it grows, making governance very challenging - if not impossible. This is a major problem many organizations must resolve.

BUILDING A DATA CULTURE: ANOTHER OBSTACLE TO OVERCOME

In many companies, data governance is seen as an administrative or technical matter, rather than a shared responsibility across the entire business, including line-of-business teams.

Employees may not realize how critical data is in day-to-day operations, leading to careless practices - like unauthorized sharing of sensitive info or misuse of data.

To improve data governance, organizations must foster a data culture, emphasizing how crucial data is and how everyone is accountable for governance.

THE COMPLIANCE CHALLENGE: A NON-NEGOTIABLE

Data governance is tightly linked to regulatory compliance, especially since the arrival of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Businesses must adhere to strict rules on collecting, storing and processing personal data. Even so, meeting these standards still poses a big challenge for many. Companies must invest in suitable systems and processes for compliance, demanding time, resources and specialized expertise.

Turning a blind eye isn’t advisable, as noncompliance can bring steep financial penalties and damage a firm’s reputation.

DATA SECURITY: AN EVER-PRESENT MAJOR CONCERN

Data governance also plays a central role in data security. Cyberattacks and data breaches are becoming more frequent, threatening confidentiality and company reputations.

Weak data governance can open the door to these breaches by omitting appropriate security measures - like encryption, access controls and backup strategies.

Thus, data governance must adopt a proactive security stance with robust policies, strict access rights and ongoing security awareness.

DATA GOVERNANCE REMAINS (STILL) THE WEAKEST LINK IN ORGANIZATIONS

The challenges of data complexity, low data-culture awareness, compliance demands and security concerns highlight the urgency of implementing strong, effective data governance.

Companies must devote adequate human and technological resources to address these issues and protect the value, integrity and security of their data.

By bolstering data governance, businesses will be better able to capitalize on the data revolution and accelerate digital transformation - an inescapable reality…

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