Introduction
To understand the role of data governance in data strategy, we must understand what the terms data governance and data strategy mean in the first place. Let’s first understand what do you mean by data strategy and why is it important?
Then, we will move on to data governance and how does it fit into data management strategies.
What is data strategy?
A data strategy is a full-proof plan of an organization in which the emphasis is on moving the enterprise towards a data-driven culture. In recent times, so many organizations are adopting and implementing data strategies to manage their data well as the data available to us is increasing exponentially day by day. A modern data strategy does not just address data, but it is also a roadmap that justifies the processes, technologies, and people. To design a data strategy, the company leaders figure out the requirements of their employees to become empowered enough to use the data.
Along with this, the organization’s procedures are also checked to make sure that the data available is of high quality and accessible to everyone across the organization. Apart from this, technology is also used to enable sharing, analysis, and storage of the data. According to DXC technology, a data strategy will make sure that the initiatives related to data follow a familiar way and structure repeatedly. This will bring uniformity to the organization and will enable better communication between people in the company.
Importance of Data Strategy
A data strategy has become of utmost importance these days in organizations. If the foundation and vision are lacking in an enterprise, different people will look at the capabilities related to data differently. This will result in duplicity of data systems as well as the data itself across the company. This will make it tough to find out the truth from data while driving up the prices in association with the effectiveness and efficiency of operations. A data strategy will provide the basis company’s efforts of planning related to data capabilities.
It’s also a great tool that enables the integration of expectations related to IT and Business for data-related company capabilities. A successful data strategy is very comprehensive and detailed, as it will provide a better chance for technical and business-related parts of the organization to understand each other fully. All the metrics can be included in data strategy as it is the best platform for elaborating how the data of the company will be managed to make use of it to support the organization’s mission, vision, and values.
Components of Data Strategy
As per The Data Administration Newsletter, there are seven primary components of data strategy such as:
- One of the components of a data strategy is data governance as it ultimately emphasizes the behavior of employees and enables the sharing of data throughout the organization effectively and efficiently.
- There must be proper business and strategic goals in place to churn out available data in the organization and derive valuable insights out of it.
- A data management strategy should have a sound understanding of business and its questions, which can easily be answered with the data.
- A data strategy should comprise the requirements of technological infrastructure, including creating scalable and flexible systems’ design and resources of data.
- The data management strategy will only be considered a successful one when it can figure out insights from the data and visualization that will help make sound business-related decisions.
- A data strategy should consist of skillsets, organisation structure, the required strength of the processes and people in the organization, and how these can be improved.
- It is a strategy to manage data and a roadmap to make the data move from its current to future state.
What is data governance?
The enforcement and execution of authority over data management and assets related to data in an organization are known as data governance. Data governance will emphasize improving the value of information and concerns about how people behave with data-associated activities. Apropos TechEela, data governance is a significant part of a data management strategy as it minimizes rules, forms rules for data usage, reduces cost, creates value from data, improves communication, and ensures that the organization remains long for risk management solutions.
An organization should have a well-defined data strategy and data governance program in place to have a detailed plan for approaching important changes in the company otherwise it will be challenging to make changes without any resources and structure independently.
Data strategy includes the above-mentioned components and pertains to applications, systems, data, building expertise, skillset and knowledge, and delivery procedure and policy to move to future state from current state.
What is the role of data governance in data strategy?
Data governance is an intrinsic part of data strategy. Its primary focus is on people’s behaviour in the organization, forming accountability for data management, improving data literacy, eliminating risks related to data, and ensuring that internal and external data rules are followed. The company’s data is one of the most valuable assets that can help improve quality, effectiveness, product development, customer satisfaction and interaction, and better decision-making and efficiency. All the employees in different departments at various levels must know that the organization’s data governance program allows you to manage your data to help achieve accuracy, safe, strategically. Post that, trusted data delivers intelligent insights.
In conclusion, the alignment of data strategy with data governance will make data easier to access and more consistent. It will also improve the confidence of an organization in data while gaining the knowledge of what data is there, its source, where it is residing, how can you access it, and who is responsible for it.
