Data Governance

Data governance is a control that ensures that data entry by a business user or an automated process meets business standards. It manages a variety of things including availability, usability, accuracy, integrity, consistency, completeness, and security of data usage. Through data governance, organizations are able to exercise positive control over the processes and methods to handle data.

Data governance also describes the evolutionary process for a company, changing the company’s way of thinking and setting up the processes to handle information so that it can be utilized by the entire organization. It also includes using technology when necessary in many forms to help drive the process. When companies want to gain control of their data, they empower their people, set up processes, and seek help from technology to do it.

Some goals of data governance include:

• Increasing consistency and confidence in decision-making
• Decreasing the risk of regulatory fines
• Improving data security
• Maximizing the income generation potential of data
• Designating accountability for information quality
• Enabling better planning by supervisory staff
• Minimizing or eliminating re-work
• Optimizing staff effectiveness
• Establishing performance baselines to allow improvement efforts
• Acknowledging and holding all gain