Data governance is a key part of this strategy: specifying policies overseeing corporate data; instituting processes and procedures guaranteeing that data policies, standards, and business rules are observed; and operationalizing those processes in a trustworthy and auditable manner. Astute corporate stakeholders prioritize data governance by hiring chief data officers (CDOs) to establish the corporate data governance program, acquire the right technologies to support it, and hire the right team to put data governance into production.

Data governance is an essential component of modern data management. Governance is the primary means by which organizations protect data from abuse, corruption, and loss. It is a key to ensuring usefulness of data with attention to quality, integration, and metadata. It is fundamental to maximizing value and minimizing risk of data assets. Despite the critical nature of data governance, most organizations struggle to implement and sustain an effective data governance program.

Similar to privacy management, data governance has a significant risk management component. The goal of data governance is to ensure data is managed appropriately to minimize risk and optimize data value and internal processes. Ideally, data governance efforts and outcomes are aligned to the organization’s strategic plan.