What Are the Benefits of Data Governance?
All businesses have access to data, and tons of it too. It’s what they do with that data that will set them apart from their competitors. Businesses need to use data effectively to make data-driven business decisions, to define strategic direction, and to learn from past mistakes.
This is among many other applications that go much deeper into the business dynamics. But before using said data, businesses need to develop proper data governance to ensure that the data being used is of appropriate integrity and quality. There are immense benefits of data governance, but first… what is it?
What Is Data Governance?
Data governance refers to how the data activities are controlled within a business. This is to keep data of a high quality as well as to ensure that it meets the goals and requirements of a business. There are aspects to data governance that need to be put in place before the data can be used to its full potential:
- A data governance policy needs to be put in place that dictates where, how, and what data is used
- The data management roles and responsibilities of your team members need to be identified
- Data management or governance processes need to be ascertained
Once these core parameters are in place, the benefits of data governance can start to show.
Benefits Of Data Governance
Proper data governance yields benefits to both the business and its employees in their daily roles. Some of the prime examples of this include:
- Data governance establishes a common understanding of data and how it applies to your business as well as how it is used in your business
- A proper data governance framework establishes a single version of truth with no grey areas in between. This reduces the instances of data misuse and enhances data quality
- Data consistency is improved, which allows businesses to make accurate and improved decisions
- Employees are empowered due to having a clean-cut view of their roles
- Data quality is improved, which allows for better integration into all systems
- Businesses can scale easier due to having access to consistent, reliable information always.
These are only a handful of the benefits of data governance and a compelling reason to implement your own data governance framework.
Don’t know how? Allow us to assist. This is our area of expertise, and we can identify a custom solution that works for your business.
Contact the team at Robinson Ryan today to set up a consultation.
