Information Governance, 2nd Edition

CHAPTER 1The Information Governance Imperative

Effective information governance (IG) programs improve operational efficiency and compliance capabilities while leveraging information as an asset to maximize their value. Active IG programs are the hallmark of well-managed organizations, and increasingly IG has become an imperative, especially for global enterprises.

A “perfect storm” of compliance pressures, cybersecurity concerns, Big Data volumes, and the increasing recognition that information itself has value have contributed to a substantial increase in the number of organizations implementing IG programs.

Most significantly, the European Union (EU) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which went into effect May 25, 2018, left companies across the globe scrambling to gain control over the consumer data they had housed. The GDPR legislation applies to all citizens in the EU and the European Economic Area (EEA), regardless of where they reside, and also visitors and temporary residents of the EU. So any global enterprise doing business with EU/EEA citizens—or even visitors—must comply with the legislation or face a major fine. The primary goal of GDPR is to give citizens control over their personal data.

Brought about in part because of GDPR compliance concerns, membership in the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) grew from around 25,000 members in 2017 to over 40,000 members in 2018, and it continues to grow.

A first step in the GDPR compliance ...