Why Data Governance has to be Flexible
We live in the data age. Big Data has exploded in recent years, with new data pouring into, and out from organizations at unprecedented volume, velocity and variety. About 90% of this data could only be as much as two years old. Organizations need to move quickly to adapt to these new conditions, and many have accelerated their digital and data transformations as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. But in survey after survey, there is still a stunning lack of confidence about data governance internally across the vast majority of organizations. One reason for this is the oft-cited reality that often there are ‘higher priorities’ for time and resources than establishing a proper data governance program. So how do organizations overcome this seeming impasse between the need for overhauled data operations and the demands of competing in a time of global crisis? Flexibility in data governance is essential.
What is meant by Flexible Data Governance?
Agile is a trendy word in the IT space these days, but trends aren’t fads, they’re based on fundamental changes that are taking place. To sum up ‘agile’, it is a philosophy that encompasses organizations adopting technology and processes that are easily adaptable to today’s rapid pace of change. This means that every tool and process used internally must be highly scalable and flexible. Data governance involves the entire set of rules and processes around how the organization stores, manages and utilizes its data. The main goals of data governance are to manage risk, increase efficiency and above all, allow the organization to extract the greatest value from their data. A traditional data governance program is likely to be very centralized, where a small nucleus of authority figures both hold the majority of knowledge and are responsible for the bulk of actions associated with governing data. This nucleus is likely to be made up of more experienced, specialist employees with specific subject matter expertise when it comes to data technology and processes. This relegation of data governance to a small group of people can cause bottlenecks, reduce overall organizational data literacy and carry a high cost.
A flexible data governance approach has the potential to improve on the shortcomings of relying on a very small group of employees to handle the ever-increasing amounts of data under management and privacy requirements. What does a flexible data governance operating model look like? Critically, a flexible approach leverages a greater number of people across the organization to perform aspects of data governance relevant to them. This requires a real strategy and plan for defining roles and responsibilities across the organization, and designing processes that can easily be followed and repeated. The main benefit of moving to such a model is that it can truly serve the enterprise. By widening the scope of who governs data to one where the entire organization holds some responsibility, and develops familiarity with data under management, overall data literacy and effectiveness of data governance can increase. Without relying on a single team of experts, data governance becomes more scalable and thus, flexible.
What steps do I take to get there?
In order to implement a flexible data governance model, organizations require technology that can actually facilitate everything required to move to such a model. All of this makes Alex Solutions the perfect foundation on which to build your data governance operations. Alex is specifically designed to serve as your enterprise data platform for workforce productivity. Alex unifies all enterprise data governance operations within a single management platform. The user experience is as simple as any social media site or entertainment streaming service. The idea is to enable both business and technical users to perform the tasks required to reduce risk and add value around data. Alex is also built to facilitate collaboration around data. Our suite of social features allow individuals and teams to work together, organize data governance processes and make insights and actions shareable, tracked and accountable. These are just some of the reasons why some of the world’s leading companies choose Alex to facilitate their flexible data governance operations.
If you want a free, personalized demonstration of how Alex can take you beyond a traditional and increasingly outmoded data governance program, request a demo with our friendly, expert team from contact@alexsolutions.com.au
