If the stick behind data governance is regulatory compliance, the carrot is business and operational benefit stretching to revenue creation, reduced expenditure, better customer satisfaction and improved data to solve business problems.
The challenges and opportunities of data governance were discussed during this week’s A-Team Group webinar, A Step-by-Step Guide to Implementing a Data Governance Framework. A-Team editor Sarah Underwood moderated the webinar and was joined by Michael Vapenik, data governance officer at American Express; Brett Caracciolo, senior vice president of data governance at Sterling National Bank; and Simon Hankinson, global financial services market lead at Collibra.
While the benefits of a successful data governance implementation and ongoing developing are significant, progress towards those benefits is taking time. A poll of the webinar audience showed only 6% of respondent having a complete data governance solution in place, 36% having a partial solution, 32% in the planning stage, 19% starting implementation and 7% not yet having started a programme.
The speakers acknowledged these responses and noted some of the challenges faced by data practitioners working on data governance, including an inability to persuade business partners that governance is a business rather than IT issue, difficulties in finding the right people resources, disparate systems resulting from mergers and acquisitions, and changing company culture.
Looking at how to get started on a programme, Hankinson said: “You need to begin with data governance principles and then start small, perhaps by identifying something the business cares about and is relevant to data consumers. Involve the business in developing the policies and in inputting to the operating model.” Vapenik warned, “Don’t boil the ocean and do bring in dedicated resources that match the culture of your firm.”
Moving into implementation, Hankinson noted the need to consider the scalability and cost effectiveness of your data governance programme. Only when this is done, he suggested, should you look at technology solutions and change management. He added: “Data governance is really about change management, less about IT and more about business.”
A second audience poll showed respondents expecting to achieve significant results from data governance implementation, including a better business understanding of data, improved regulatory compliance and reduced operational costs. The webinar speakers added the potential to generate additional revenue and improve the customer experience.
Listen to the webinar to find out more about:
- Industry progress on data governance
- Winning management buy-in
- Step-by-step implementation
- How to inbed data ownership
- Benefits of successful data governance
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