No company can ignore the fact that data is a crucial strategic asset – whether global business data, specific to all structures, (accounting, finance, customer data, etc.) or specific to business areas (processes, technical diagrams, etc.).

As big data becomes more widespread, this strategic asset must meet ever-increasing regulatory requirements for its security and use: A prerequisite for responsible and compliant data management.

What is data regulation?

To be used properly, data must conform to specific standards:

  • Legislation established by the authorities to regulate the collection, processing and use of data;
  • Specific company standards of data quality

The two issues are closely linked. At the European level, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which came into effect in May 2018, affected all companies that collect, store, and process data. Other sector-specific regulations (in banking or insurance, for example) require major changes internally.

These few examples give an idea of the problem: In terms of regulatory compliance, changes must be constant and must be done in anticipation rather than waiting for enforcement or even until it is too late.

The benefits of data governance for regulatory compliance

The problem, therefore, is not the identification of the data on entry, but its traceability and the conformity of its use at each stage of its circulation in the company. The risk is an unauthorized use, an insufficient level of security or possible internal deterioration, and the loss of user confidence at the end of the chain – due to non-compliance with regulations. Data Governance helps to secure and equip them to deal with this problem, this risk.

A short list of the benefits of thorough data governance policies for organizations include:

  • Clear definition of the regulatory framework around each piece of data
  • Clear definition of rules for securing, storing, and preserving data
  • An authorized operating framework
  • Traceability of internal data use

Data governance ensures that companies treat data assets in accordance with the rules – those of the legislator, as well as those that apply internally – at every stage of their lifecycle. It ensures the traceability of data throughout its life cycle and initiates a process of evolution within the company to offer each employee the same tools and knowledge to access and use data efficiently.

Conclusion

As long as the success factors are taken into account – involving all employees, opening up to knowledge sharing, and establishing a culture of good data management – Data governance enables companies to respond to the requirements of regulators and to the growing concerns expressed by users. It also gives them the chance to stay one step ahead of future regulations.

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Are you interested in learning even more about using your data as an asset? Book a demo today to get started on your organization’s journey to complete data lifecycle management with DataGalaxy!