Why Data Governance Is More About Enabling Good Than Stopping Bad

It seems like every day businesses are bombarded with reminders of the value of data. Data, we are told, leads us to make smarter decisions that deliver better outcomes. No arguments there.

But we are constantly reminded of the dangers of data too; of the consequences of losing it, accidentally or through malicious actors. Attacks on Stuxnet, Equifax and the NHS are just some of the cautionary tales we share around. The cost of each attack is an eye-watering $4.5m, estimates IBM in its Cost of Data Breaches Report 2022. Add in the fallout from reputational damage, and the level of cybersecurity investment needed to protect against increasingly sophisticated threats, and a cost-benefit analysis of using data may conclude that it’s just not worth it.

It is common practice for businesses to address this risk with a data governance framework. As such, data governance is often presented as preventive; the art of stopping bad things happening. That positioning continues to be its downfall. When a business frames data governance in terms of risk mitigation and regulatory obligations, it becomes an ancillary function. It can quickly be superseded by activities that have a more immediate impact on the bottom line, be it revenue generating or cost cutting measures. When trading conditions are tough, this inclination to deprioritise data governance in favour of perceived core business endeavours is even stronger.

Instead, data governance should be seen as enabling good; that with the right controls and processes, you improve the quality of data you have; get it to the people who can gain most value from it; and so drive better outcomes with it.

This thesis supports the trend for self-service data discovery and BI. Businesses increasingly understand that data by itself is fairly useless. Data needs context, and so it becomes more powerful when in the hands of those making business decisions. This decentralised approach requires a level of organisation around who can access and share different data. That should be a fundamental aspect of a data governance framework—not because it’s important to stop data getting into the wrong hands, but to make sure the right hands get the data they need. Equally, a data catalogue and data management tools should be built with the end-user in mind, making it easy for them to find, understand and interrogate the data they need. In contrast, many businesses organise their data to demonstrate regulatory compliance.

Data also needs to be credible. In other words, do users believe the information and insights they are being given? So data governance must provide assurances on data provenance and establish control processes and tests to ensure data validity. Again, the emphasis here is on a framework that enables rather than restricts. When an executive trusts their data, they can make clearer, bolder decisions with it.

Culture is also key to an effective data governance framework. In the self-service, decentralised world of BI, data is no longer the sole remit of one team. Data and analytical literacy must be embedded into everyone’s role and every workflow. So data governance should not be seen simply as a framework for information security. It is also a set of behaviours and processes that are designed to foster collaboration at all levels and instil confidence in users as much as to keep them and the company safe. Data governance should describe how this culture permeates the entire business, from leadership through to individual lines of business, and right down to how every employee handles and uses data and information.

Transparency should be elevated to a core value. Mass data participation won’t be achieved if users are worried that they’ll do something wrong. But when vulnerabilities are valued and mistakes seen as a learning moment, users have no need to be paralysed with worry. Data becomes a playground of discovery. A data governance framework must bake this culture in from the start.

The traditional view of data governance is as a block to information and innovation. Executives want to be set free, to explore data and the secrets it surfaces. But a data governance framework that priorities regulation and security puts in place policies and protocols designed to restrict independence. Rather, effective data governance should be the reason you can say “yes” to data requests.

Often the problem is that data governance is considered too late. Insert data governance over existing priorities, policies and processes, and it is seen as being intrusive. But start with a data governance framework, and design everything else around that, and it becomes ambient, quietly enabling, never compromising.

3 elements of an effective data governance

Lead from the top
Executives responsible for data governance must set the right tone. Excite employees about what an effective data governance can do for them, not what it will stop them doing.

Governance by design
A governance framework that truly liberates data must permeate the entire business, including systems, processes and culture. Architect governance with this scope in mind from the start.

Opportunity-based approach
A data governance framework should define the outcomes it wants to achieve. Resist the temptation to take a risk-based approach. Instead, describe the opportunities that effective data management can deliver.