Do I need data governance tools?

Deciding on the right data governance tools for your company is the final step in implementing a strategy that will enable you to protect, regulate and utilise your data as an asset. The process includes the need to understand how you will be using the technology, and what you need it to do.

Choosing the right tool can depend on where your company is in its data governance journey and the potential for effective application of the tool in your organisation supports the functionality of the technology.

What do companies use data governance tools for?

Use cases for data governance tools can include the following scenarios, which may be familiar to your company.

Regulation

Many data governance strategies are born from the increasing need to remain compliant with industry regulations. If your organisation exists in a highly regulated industry, such as banking or insurance – data governance tools can help you to better manage regulated data and avoid compliance issues and costs.

Consolidating Data

Companies may need to consolidate large amounts of data pertaining to a common topic or area. In this case, data governance tools are applied to improve data quality and management.

Advanced Analytics and Big Data

Data governance tools can support the advanced analytics software your company may be using, by aligning data definitions, lineage and privacy concerns. It enables the management of the advanced analytic functions so that the organisation can get more value from the data, and limit risks.

What are the benefits of Data Governance tools?

Once your company is ready to implement a data governance tool, focus on finding those that will help you achieve the business goals that were outlined in your data governance strategy. Tools could provide the following business benefits:

Reduce compliance issues – manage regulatory requirements and know that your data practices are legally compliant through the use of a comprehensive data governance tool.

Provide simpler access to data – data governance tools can simplify the process of locating and storing data. Ensuring your insights are easy to find, and access permissions are managed.  

Improve data quality – data cleansing and data consistency are promoted through data governance tools.

Choosing and Assessing data governance tools

When looking for a data governance tool for your organisation, consider which use cases and business benefits are most important. Narrow down your search by asking questions that will help you understand which tool would suit your circumstances:

• How will the tool integrate with other tools currently in place? Will you need the tool to connect with a multitude of other platforms?
• Will the tool need to be on-premise or cloud-based?
• How much data, and of what kind will the tool need to work with?
• How will the tool fit with those that need to use it for different purposes?

Beyond this, identifying particular features that will help you to reach your business goals is crucial:

• Automation of Data governance and management
• Data cataloguing
• Cloud integration
• Data integration
• API and Application integration
• Collaboration workspaces
• Governance permissions and access controls

Data governance tools can greatly improve your organisational approach to data governance, and improve operational efficiency.