Data Governance and Compliance Explained

There are a number of factors to consider within your data framework, such as:

• Data Classification: the process of sorting data into categories based on type, content, and metadata.
• Data Ownership: the possession and responsibility of information.
• Data Quality: this refers to how well a dataset meets criteria for accuracy, completeness, reliability, relevance, and timeliness.
• Data Security: the process of protecting digital information against unauthorised access.

Companies should also implement training for everyone accessing their data so that they fully understand the relevant policies and procedures. You should also consider the Metadata included in all data assets, which can enhance and enrich the ability to categorise and classify your data assets.

What are the common challenges organisations typically face regarding data governance and compliance?

Lack of awareness of data governance expectations

In general, we see many companies who do not know where their data is and who has full access to it. Training around the classification of data, such as sensitivity labels, is not often provided, so when the majority do not understand what should be classed as confidential, they are unlikely to categorise this correctly.

Governance and Compliance, a "Blocker" to productivity

Quite often Governance and Compliance is seen as a negative role within a company and a “Blocker” to getting the job done. In actuality, governance and compliance can be one of the greatest revenue saviours by reducing liability and fines. 

This limited stakeholder buy-in along with a lack of a comprehensive Data Governance Strategy severely limits what a company can then do, even if they do understand where and what their data is. Additionally, there is often a lack of resources as well to get the job done effectively.

The aftermath of neglecting data governance and compliance

In multiple industries, we are seeing increased regulation and more robust regulatory bodies bringing more audits and fines, especially in the event of a data breach. The current record fine is held by Meta, the owner of Facebook, with their 2023 fine of 1.2 billion euros from the Irish Data Protection Commission. These fines are not just impacting Social Media companies though, with the likes of H&M incurring 35M euros in 2020, British Airways incurring 22.4 million euros in 2019 and Uber incurring 10 million in 2023.