Business Value Metrics for Data Governance

by Dec 17, 2018

As data professionals, we recognize and understand the need for data governance, focusing on data quality in particular. We have made some progress in this area, as illustrated by the emergence of the Chief Data Officer role in recent years. However, recent studies have shown that only 4% of organizations utilize information to it's full potential, driven by investment in value-driven information strategies.  The vast majority of companies have not been able to establish a data culture, for  a variety of reasons.
 
In most, the need for governance is still largely unrecognized, and remains very tough to sell internally.  Technical stakeholders that recognize the need are often unable to define and state the costs and benefits in business terms.  In my recent Dataversity webcast I discussed multiple approaches to define benefits, as well as quantification in financial terms that business leadership can relate to.  I also discuss how the benefits can be communicated in a manner that is aligned with corporate strategies and goals.