Skip to main content

On-demand webinar coming soon...

Blog

What is data governance?

Data discovery tools help value digital information, which sets up a data governance program for success

Jason Koestenblatt
Manager, Content Marketing
September 6, 2023

Two businessmen discussing a data management project in their office.

Demand for data governance solutions is growing as more companies move to a customer-centric and data insights-driven approach to business. In doing so, these same organizations also need to comply with ever-changing privacy, security, and governance regulations and frameworks.

To better collect, use, and protect data, businesses must first understand data governance and how smarter privacy and security compliance builds an intelligent governance program.

Data governance is a collection of practices and processes that enable data stakeholders to create and manage data and data assets rules. Effective data management and analytics require a data governance solution that protects the privacy, security, and integrity of all data while also enabling the business to unlock value from that data. Organizations need robust data governance to gain meaningful data insights and comply with ever-changing security frameworks and privacy regulations like the GDPR, CCPA, LGPD, ISO, and NIST

The sheer amount of data generated within an organization is significantly increasing throughout every business unit, from sales and marketing to product and development. Add to that the challenge of a continually changing regulatory landscape, and you can understand why good data governance cannot be ignored.

Learn how to build a data governance program with this ultimate guide

In order to govern the data associated with your organization, you must first discover it and then classify its value. Data governance then provides businesses with a way to not only know what data they have but where they have it and who has access to it. Organizations with data governance solutions in place are better positioned to have objective, data-based insights that allow them to make more informed business decisions. They are also more likely to have more robust privacy and security programs as a result. 

 

What creates an effective data governance strategy?

Below are the core components and considerations for any organization wanting to build a data governance strategy:

 

You must first know your data

With the volume and types of data that organizations process continually increasing, the first step to governing your data is knowing your data. Manual data discovery cannot scale across most organizations, so automated data discovery capabilities are essential. Data discovery tools help organizations identify their data assets and the data within and classify and enrich that data to better understand what data they have and how it needs to be governed. Utilizing data discovery technology with broad integration across all of your key system types (cloud, on-premise, legacy) and data types (structured, unstructured, files, images, etc.) is also essential. Data discovery tools must also leverage AI and other advanced technologies to improve data classification accuracy and efficiency. Effective data discovery goes deeper than metadata.

 

AI-driven data classification and metadata management are essential

The process of discovery and classification of data across your organization builds high volumes of information and detailed metadata that needs to be centralized and managed through data inventories, data dictionaries, and business glossaries. This helps your organization align technical metadata with business terminology to help the business understand the data. 

Traditionally, metadata management was a manual, tedious task requiring a massive amount of resources to scale, even with the use of tools. Now, AI-driven tools bring automation to classification, adding terms, business rules, etc., and speed up other areas such as collaboration, remediation, and data curations. With the right data governance tools, companies can better interpret data by automatically populating data dictionaries and mapping business glossaries. This gives data within the organization better context and facilitates collaboration and communication among stakeholders across the organization.

 

Don’t silo your Privacy, Security, and Data Governance programs

Strong data governance brings numerous benefits to your privacy and security initiatives. Conversely, your privacy and security teams’ work can also accelerate and strengthen your data governance program. For example, a data governance project to catalog all data that an organization holds provides invaluable benefits to security and privacy teams.

 

You must govern your data with smarter policy management

Organizations need clearly outlined policies that outline who should have access to certain types of data, how long they should keep it, and where certain sensitive types of data should be stored. An effective data governance solution should flag possible policy violations and at-risk data. These violations could include sensitive data with open-access permissions, or minimum or maximum data retention periods, which require organizations to auto-apply retention rules based on jurisdiction and record type.

 

Your approach to data management enables business use and collaboration

A core pillar of effective data governance is the ability to set guidelines on data use and quality that facilitate ease of communication and education across the business and technical users. A company’s ability to perform a real-time search of a data catalog promotes trust and data literacy among the business while also allowing users to provide quality feedback. Data stewards can then manage business feedback as well as any access requests to desired data sets. When data is appropriately managed, better cross-functional collaboration can take place as stakeholders are working from a single source of truth.

 

Do you have a data governance solution in place?

Forward-thinking companies want to make the most of data to become insight-driven, trusted organizations. A strong data governance strategy means that businesses have good data and that they are also smart consumers of this data. This requires a holistic approach to data policies, data quality, risk management, and business processes to create data literacy. The more data literate your organization is, the better you can use data-led insights to improve your operations and provide customers with the services and experiences they want.

Learn more about OneTrust Data Discovery tools and Data Governance by requesting a demo


You may also like

Webinar

Navigating the top 5 data sharing challenges

This webinar will uncover the top 5 data sharing challenges organizations face and demonstrate how advanced data governance solutions can streamline processes, improve data quality, and enhance compliance, allowing organizations to discover the full potential of their data assets.

October 31, 2024

Learn more

Webinar

Data Discovery & Classification

Enhancing Data Governance: OneTrust and Snowflake strategies for data-driven businesses

Join us for a webinar with Jim Warner and Alex Cash to explore how Snowflake and OneTrust can revolutionize your data governance strategy, helping you maintain data quality, ensure compliance, and exceed marketing ROI in 2024.

September 24, 2024

Learn more

eBook

AI Governance

Data and AI governance for responsible use of data

Learn why discovering, classifying, and using data responsibly is the only way to ensure your AI is governed properly.

September 12, 2024

Learn more

Webinar

Data Discovery & Classification

Catch it live: See the all-new features in OneTrust's Spring Release and Post-TrustWeek recap

Join us as Ryan Karlin, Senior Director of Product Marketing highlights important updates from TrustWeek including an inside look into OneTrust's new platform features that make it easier for customers to activate data responsibly, surface and mitigate risk, and navigate the complex regulatory environment.

June 06, 2024

Learn more

eBook

Privacy & Data Governance

Data governance across industries: Leveraging your organization's most valuable asset

Download our new eBook and learn how to leverage the value of data governance across industries, including financial services, healthcare, retail, and manufacturing.

April 17, 2024

Learn more

Report

Data Discovery & Classification

The KuppingerCole Leadership Compass on Data Governance

OneTrust has been named a leader in the 2024 KuppingerCole Leadership Compass on Data Governance, receiving the highest rating for Product​, Innovation​, and Market.

March 08, 2024

Learn more

Infographic

Data Discovery & Classification

OneTrust Privacy & Data Governance Cloud gains momentum with widespread industry recognition

OneTrust maintains its leading position in Privacy & Data Governance, with a record number of recognitions in the last six months from KuppingerCole and Forrester

March 07, 2024

Learn more

Infographic

Data Discovery & Classification

Data governance in manufacturing: Challenges and use cases

Learn the impact a data governance program has in manufacturing and how it enables greater efficiency across your supply chain

February 26, 2024

Learn more

Infographic

Data Discovery & Classification

What to look for in a data discovery solution

Make sure you choose the right data discovery solution for your organization with our comprehensive breakdown of key benefits and features to look for.

February 20, 2024

Learn more

Infographic

Data Discovery & Classification

Data governance in retail: Challenges and use cases

Learn how data governance can help manage the high volume and sensitivity of data that runs through your retail operations.

February 12, 2024

Learn more

Infographic

Data Discovery & Classification

Data governance in healthcare: Challenges and use cases

Learn how data governance can help your healthcare organization effectively manage its protected health information (PHI) and other sensitive data.

February 08, 2024

Learn more

Infographic

Data Discovery & Classification

Data governance in financial services: Challenges and use cases

Learn how data governance can help address common challenges in the financial services industry and protect your most critical information.

January 12, 2024

Learn more

Webinar

Data Discovery & Security

A guided tour of OneTrust Data Discovery magic

Our expert speaker will demonstrate how common real-world data challenges can be identified, addressed, and reported on, leading to better data governance, security, and alignment with business goals. 

October 26, 2023

Learn more

Webinar

Data Discovery & Security

Data minimization and risk assessment in data discovery

Explore the concept of data minimization and its crucial role in enhancing security, privacy, and reducing risk.

October 19, 2023

Learn more

Webinar

Data Discovery & Security

Data Discovery Dispelled: Unmasking the mysteries of data

Join us for a journey into the heart of data management as we explore the depths of data within organizations and shed light on how technology can enhance data security, privacy, and compliance.

October 12, 2023

Learn more

Webinar

Data Discovery & Security

Data Discovery Dispelled: Data's dark corners

Join the first part of our Data Discovery Dispelled webinar series where we will discuss the hidden sensitive information that could pose risks for your organization.

October 12, 2023

Learn more

Infographic

Privacy & Data Governance

Understanding the EU Data Boundary

Download our free infographic and get the information you need to understand the EU Data Boundary and how to properly handle data in the European Union.

September 22, 2023

Learn more

eBook

Data Discovery & Classification

Ultimate guide to building a data governance program

Download this eBook and learn practical methods in building a flexible data governance program that aligns with your business.

August 14, 2023

Learn more

Webinar

Data Discovery & Classification

Live demo: OneTrust Data Discovery

See how OneTrust Data Discovery can help your organization achieve complete data visibility to empower your security program and reduce risk.

June 23, 2023

Learn more

Webinar

Data Discovery & Classification

OneTrust Data Discovery Day: A deep dive into automating data discovery and classification

Join us for a two-hour deep dive into data discovery and how OneTrust helps privacy, IT, and security teams understaind their data and achieve risk reduction goals.

June 13, 2023

Learn more

Infographic

Data Discovery & Classification

How OneTrust Data Discovery integrates with Microsoft 365

Explore three key integration capabilities of OneTrust Data Discovery and Microsoft 365.

June 13, 2023 3 min read

Learn more

Webinar

Data Discovery & Classification

Monitoring least privilege access risks

Understand common scenarios for applying data access governance within your business and key considerations for evaluating open access risk.

May 18, 2023

Learn more

In-Person Event

Privacy & Data Governance

Privacy in practice

Join us for a deep dive into embedding privacy by design into the fabric of your business to promote the responsible use of data.

May 09, 2023

Learn more

Webinar

Data Discovery & Classification

Orchestrating data retention & deletion to reduce ROT data

Learn how organizations who orchestrate data retention not only satisfy retention requirements, but also reduce data sprawl and breach risk. 

April 27, 2023

Learn more

Webinar

Data Discovery & Classification

De-Risking data with visibility & classification

Join this interactive webinar to learn how Data Discovery helps information security teams gain visibility into risky data and prioritize investments.

April 11, 2023

Learn more

Infographic

De-risking data through visibility and action

The rapid growth of data has increased the risk of data breaches, learn how IT and security teams can secure, monitor, and de-risk that digital information.

March 09, 2023

Learn more

Infographic

Data Discovery & Classification

The CISO challenge: Data. Threats. Regulations.

Unstructured data poses risks due to its open access and lack of governance, and CISOs need to implement measures to track, de-risk, and protect it.

March 03, 2023

Learn more

Webinar

Data Discovery & Classification

Mitigating US privacy risk to control your organization’s attack surface

In this session, we'll discuss how the requirements under upcoming US Privacy laws create an opportunity for businesses to embed privacy by default.

November 17, 2022

Learn more

Webinar

Data Discovery & Classification

UK panel: What are data subject access requests and how do you manage them?

Join our UK legal experts as they discuss data subject rights access requests (DSAR) and how automation streamlines fulfilment and protects privacy.

April 19, 2022

Learn more

Webinar

Privacy Management

Privacy rights: Enhance Your DSAR process with automation, discovery & redaction

As part of our Privacy Automation webinar series, we discuss why it's important to automate DSAR fulfillment and the latest regulatory trends. 

March 22, 2022

Learn more

Webinar

Data Discovery & Classification

UK DSAR automation: From intake to redaction and beyond

Join us for this instalment of our Future of Privacy Automation Series for a discussion of the challenges, key components, and building blocks of DSAR automation.

March 14, 2022

Learn more

Webinar

Data Discovery & Classification

Meeting California's employee privacy rights requirements

Watch this webinar to learn more about California's employee privacy rights requirements and how to comply.

March 08, 2022

Learn more

Webinar

Data Discovery & Classification

Tackling unstructured data challenges

In this webinar, learn about the risks of unstructured data and effective strategies in automating discovery.

March 02, 2022

Learn more

Webinar

Data Discovery & Classification

Snowflake and OneTrust: Integrated data governance for your enterprise data

Watch this webinar where we discuss how Snowflake leveraged OneTrust to help better understand and classify their data.

October 05, 2021

Learn more