Rethink Information Governance - Getting a handle on data

Introduction

In this second part of our information governance (IG) eBook we focus our attention on the essentials of data management beginning with discovering, understanding and standardising the ways in which we describe data. Putting these disciplines in place is the basis for a unified governance practice and realising the full value of data. 

If you missed part one of our series, we discussed the factors that are driving new urgency for organisations to implement IG, including data growth, a new regulatory environment and the increasing importance of data in the business decision-making process.

We also discussed the difference between data, records and information and why the distinction is important for organisations to gain a full picture of their data assets. 

Understanding your data

Information governance starts with understanding what the business does and what data it needs to complete the key tasks. From there you can start understanding what physical and digital data you have. This exercise sets the stage for asking questions like:

• why you have that data,
• what risks and opportunities it presents,
• and what are the principal business drivers for better data use. 

If the data does not have value beyond its initial use you can dispose of it, reducing risks and costs associated with over retention.

The digital landscape of most businesses looks like this Venn diagram. The ideal state is for data access to be supported by technology, so that business objectives are served. When data access is either not supported by technology, or not needed to achieve business objectives, it presents a risk. For example, holding on to personal data that is not essential to customer records could create compliance exposure, and keeping outdated or unnecessary information on hand could slow down processes.

Download the e-book to learn more.