Is the effort to implement data governance and data intelligence worth it? The answer to this question is yes. With the implementation of data governance and data intelligence, the organization will be more effective and efficient, allowing for the savings of time and money along with greater staff satisfaction. Return on Investment (ROI) of data governance is achieved in a very quick time frame. With data governance in place, the organization will benefit from excellent data quality and and the ability to receive rapid, accurate, and trusted answers to data-related questions. This will enable data-driven decision-making and clearly defined roles and tasks for data ownership. In this blog post we will cover some examples of how an organization gains ROI with data governance and data intelligence.
Effort is required to create the necessary data-related content, but this content has long term benefit. There is a cost to implementing a data governance solution and its maintenance, like the Data Cookbook solution, but the provided framework, best practices, and features have long-term benefits. When connected with the correct processes and people, data governance and a solution like the Data Cookbook is a powerful amplifier for the organization. But remember that a solution is useless without purpose and actions. Have a data governance roadmap.
Here are some ROI examples:
EASILY FIND INFORMATION IN DATA-RELATED KNOWLEDGE BASE – A data governance knowledge base includes a business glossary and report information which saves staff time (thus saving money and staff frustration) by not having to search multiple places for information. Data governance provides a central location for metadata, increasing the trust, accessibility, and transparency of your data.
STAFF DATA USAGE AND LITERACY IMPROVED – Staff becomes more data literate with access to data governance content. There is a business glossary of terms that is easily accessed along with documentation about reports, dashboards, and integrations. Mappings are made from source to target data system to track data lineage for the definitions, thus explaining where the data came from. Report information and definitions can be seen right in the report being viewed. Users have a better understanding of data when linked functional and technical data information can be viewed. And data policies are easily accessible for staff.
FASTER EMPLOYEE ONBOARDING - With data governance, a new employee can get up to speed quicker and learn terminology faster, making them more productive sooner. Communication about data is improved with data governance.
EFFICIENT HANDLING OF DATA REQUESTS & DATA STEWARD EMPOWERMENT – Data consumers using data governance can make data-related requests (new report, new definition, curate an existing report, request for data system access, fix an integration, etc.) which are routed to the appropriate data steward for quick resolution. Resolutions are documented and a workflow can notify the data consumer of request completion. These data requests can be made from reports, saving staff time and can be linked to existing IT help desk system.
INCREASED UNDERSTANDING AND ACCESS OF DATA SYSTEM INVENTORY – Along with data systems, software tools can be documented by data governance so that they can be reviewed. Thus, data silos and unnecessary data systems that cause confusion, inaccurate data, and extra costs can be eliminated. An iInventory provides ownership of data systems along with access information which avoids staff frustration.
IMPROVED DATA QUALITY MANAGEMENT – Data quality issues are fixed faster with data governance and can be found with data quality monitoring and assessments. Data quality issues can be discovered and reported with data quality monitoring. And issues can be reported via data requests and quickly resolved by data steward assignment.
REFERENCE DATA CHANGE NOTIFICATIONS - When reference data is changed it could have a major negative and costly impact on reports. With data governance, data stewards are notified on reference data changes to eliminate this impact.
SUCCESSFUL TECHNOLOGY PROJECTS – Data governance provides the necessary knowledge and communication required in technology projects such as a new CRM, implementing a data warehouse or installing an integration between systems. A technology project is a rare opportunity where much of an organization’s data and reports are evaluated and touched. Data governance provides common terminology and data information necessary for successful projects.
VALUE MULTIPLIER ON EXISTING INVESTMENTS – An organization’s reporting, analytics, and business intelligence (BI) tools are costly to implement and maintain. Data governance allows for better outcomes and adoption for reporting and BI tools. Data governance provides more efficient reporting work, reduced rework and reduced duplicated work.
PROVIDES SELF-SERVICE REPORTING AND KNOWLEDGE - With data governance, time savings can be achieved as staff can look up their own data-related information, including data policies and report information, without relying on others such as costly support staff. Check out our “Make Data Governance as Self-service as Possible” blog post.
COSTLY AUDIT AND COMPLIANCE ISSUES AVOIDED – Unnecessary audits are expensive and can be eliminated with data governance. All organizations want to avoid unfavorable news and lawyers as much as possible on compliance issues. Accelerate regulatory reporting while avoiding mistakes.
FACILITATES AUDIT REQUIREMENTS – Clear policies, processes, and ownership around data management are established with data governance which makes it easier for auditors to verify compliance.
HELPS DETECT AND STOP FRAUD – Data-related policies contain policy attributes which can be used to identify and prevent fraudulent activities.
Look at all the above examples and determine the savings (time and money), increased satisfaction, and improved data driven decision-making that can be achieved with a solution like the Data Cookbook and data governance at your organization. With this determination you can see where data governance can provide an excellent return on investment (ROI) for an organization.
We hope you found this blog post helpful in your data governance journey. Additional resources on data governance ROI and adoption can be found in this blog post.
IData has a solution, the Data Cookbook, that can aid the employees and the organization in its data governance, data intelligence, data stewardship and data quality initiatives. IData also has experts that can assist with data governance, reporting, integration and other technology services on an as needed basis. Feel free to contact us and let us know how we can assist.
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