Defining Data Governance
What It Means and Why You Need It
Data governance: It’s an admittedly nebulous term that can seem to mean everything and nothing. Depending on your background, business, and a range of other factors, data governance can seem academic or irrelevant, even if you work in a data-focused role. Let’s clear some of the fog and talk about the practical meaning of data governance.
Data governance helps you manage data at scale. From receiving the first spreadsheets with raw data to monitoring that data’s quality once it’s in production, organizations use data governance to assess data sourcing, quality, and security at all stages of the data pipeline.
Data governance creates shared ownership for data. People across disciplines co-create the standards, techniques, and metrics that measure success. These data stewards own aspects of your data framework, creating a data governance council that transcends roles like IT and DevSecOps.
The work the members of a data governance council do starts with a strategy.
