improvement of data governance and its importance to an organization
Introduction
The success and future of any organization relies on their data, as well as the data storage and conveyance techniques. Critical operations such as optimization of operations, improvement of profitability, decision making, and creation of new products and services rely entirely on the analytical data available. With the immense growth in the technological sector globally, organizations are abandoning their initial mechanisms of storying and conveying their data, for the use of digital techniques of data storage and governance. There is immense need for a secure way of exploiting the data, particularly considering the vulnerability of data pertaining an organization, including the top intelligence of the government. Practically, compromising the vital information of any organization is likely to interfere completely with the operations and success of the same. Data governance is therefore mandatory for any organization to be able to store and manipulate the available data with utmost security and trust. This article bases on improvement of data governance, while citing its importance to an organization. It additionally examines two different organizations (Greater Manchester Combined Authority and the Large Eastern US University Medical System), and outlines the data governance technologies they have recently implemented, their reasons for adopting the specific technologies, the business factors considered before the implementation, the initial information deficiencies, the benefits garnered from the implementation, as well as a comprehensive comparison between the benefits attained and the cost of implementation.
Data governance is generally the management of data used in any enterprise to ensure that it available, usable, secure, and of outstanding integrity (Thompson, Ravindran, & Nicosia, 2015) The stakeholders using technology uses this process to manage and protect their critical data. With this practice, investors and business owners are confident of the consistency and trustworthiness of their data. The entire process revolves around people, processes, and technological innovations to realize the importance of all data (Ladley, 2019). In other words, this is a process that bridges Information Technology and Business aspect of an organization. Management of data does not only require technology, but also discipline among the workforce in the organization. The framework of data governance comprises the structures of an organization, processes, technologies, and rules making up the entire program (Otto, 2011). A typical program for data governance comprises governance office, governing council, procedures, as well as an implementation plan, all steered by the senior management (Joshi, Bollen, Hassink, De Haes, & Van Grembergen, 2018). With all the latest IT developments, businesses and other enterprises are sure to enhance sustainability, performance, and growth (Chapter 1: Disruptive IT Impacts Companies, Competition, and Careers in Information Technology for Management).
Data governance matters a lot of any organization, whether private or public, and lacking it implies inconsistent data in they systems of an organization, an aspect that will most likely birth complications when it comes to effective data integration and accuracy of intelligence. It is associated with a lot of benefits, not only to the organization, but also to customers and investors. The key aim of this process is to break down the data silos resulting from separate systems of transaction procedures deployed by individual businesses. It benefits an organization by collecting data, revising then standardizing it, and preparing it for the right application. In other words, with this process, an organization is able to access all the critical data at its disposal, and only to the right people, in the most appropriate form. With all these catered for, an organization becomes better for business operations, and a critical spot for productivity and efficiency. Data governance is also essential in ensuring proper use of data and minimized errors and data misuse, through data usage policies. Other additional benefits of data governance improved quality of data, low cost of data management, accuracy and relevance of data, and ease of access of critical data to various analysts and scientists (Cheong, & Chang, 2007). With the executive having a reliable information at their disposal, decision making is never a problem.
Poor governance of data is likely to hamper the initiatives of regulatory compliance, a fact that may result into problems with organizations that require to comply fully with the laws on data protection and privacy, among other challenges with customers (Khatri, & Brown, 2010). Organizational factors such as general mismanagement, politics, and expediency may compromise a well-designed architecture management strategy if not well monitored (Lewis, 2017).
Implementation
The Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) is based in the United Kingdom and is comprised of the councils of the Greater Manchester and the Mayor, who collaborate with various partners and business communities to make the region a better place, and covers for almost 5% of the entire UK population (Ward, Deas, Haughton, & Hincks, 2015). The Large Eastern US University Medical System on the other hand, is a vast medical academic center comprising a variety of institutions. Both these organizations have in the recent past adopted various technologies for data governance.
What technology did they implement?
GMCA implemented the End-to-End (E2E) Operating Model, whereas the Larger Eastern US University Medical System opted for the metadata strategy, an enterprise technology important for data orientation.
Why did they choose that technology?
GMCA opted for the technology following an allocation of funds from the central bank and invested some in implementing the technology, not only to safeguard their valuable data, but also to enable sharing of data with all residents, unless entirely private or legal. The Medical System on the other hand opted for the technology due to the need for data security.
What business factors were evaluated prior to implementation?
The major business factor evaluated prior to implementing the technology in GMCA is the genuine need for a change in the manner of information sharing and used for proper service integration. The Medical System evaluated the multiple system comprising the large chunks of sensitive data, which is subject to significant requirements such as eligibility to the claim system, among others form agencies such as IRS and CMS. Violating these any of these standards implied penalties and lawsuits capable of hampering operations.
What information deficiencies existed prior to implementation?
Prior to the implementation of the technology in GMCA, information sharing was not affective, and as such, many residents did not have access to the available data. As for the Medical System, the eligibility requirement and agency standards meant all the data was constantly at risk, following the lack of a supporting process.
What benefits were gained after implementing the technology?
Implementing the End-to-End has increased collaboration, information sharing throughout all the 37 social care and health partners, as well as improving problem-solving processes. The centralized structure having a governing process established Medical System protects and maintains all the data assets. As a result, a practical and actionable data governance has been achieved by both the organization, hence surety of data security.
Do the benefits associated with the technology outweigh the costs?
Implementing any data governance technique is an great commitment that attracts large amount of investment. However, no amount of cost literally outweighs the relevance and security of data in any organization, as it is the engine driving the organization to its desired future. It is important to note that the benefits attained from implementing the technologies in the various organizations outweighs the cost used in the entire process.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the field of IT is constantly changing and there is need for constant improvement learning and improvement, especially as all disciplines including business relies on it (Chapter 2: Information Systems, IT Architecture, Data Governance, and Cloud Computing in Information Technology for Management). It is obvious that the more IT experts work around the clock to design more reliable and secure ways of data governance, others are designing mechanisms of breaching the security and privacy of these ways. It hence calls for adoption of data governance techniques that will not undermine the value of the stored data, as no organization would like their crucial information to be compromised, no matter the circumstance.