As the volume of data held by financial institutions continues to rise at an alarming rate, many firms are considering how best to manage the data with regard to what it is needed for and how it can be used to add value to the business. A panel session at next week’s A-Team Data Management Summit will discuss how to measure and demonstrate the value of data, and debate the future of data and the data executive.
Garry Manser, Head of Data Governance at Visa, will be on the panel talking about his experience of data management, data governance and delivering value to the business.
Manser says data management should not be just a regulatory response, but also a means of adding value to the business. Illustrating this, he describes a Know Your Customer build that included data quality processes designed to add value. For example, by improving data quality using a governance framework, it was possible to improve customer contact by giving marketing teams valuable telephone numbers and email addresses. On the downside, Manser says customer data that is not collected correctly the first time can cost £20 to correct. Similarly, getting data wrong can lead to regulatory fines and business risk, meaning there is significant value in not having to correct or fix data.
On a wider scale, Manser says: “Data governance is about two things, people and value. There is no point having data governance without business buy-in, so it is important to work with business people to make change happen, not mandate it. Use data governance to decide what is important and provides value to the organisation, its customers and how it makes decisions. Then build it out gradually so that people understand why it is being implemented. The organisation needs to see the benefits it will gain and individuals need to understand their responsibilities. Once the business understands data governance, it is easier to achieve quick wins, gain momentum and make changes across the organisation.”
As a lead on data stewardship at Visa, Manser says the role of the data executive is to develop understanding, bring about change and take business people with you on the data journey.
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