The Data Asset: How Smart Companies Govern Their Data for Business Success

CHAPTER 5

Governing Your Data

It takes a long time to bring excellence to maturity.

—TITUS LIVY, ROMAN HISTORIAN

EXECUTIVE OVERVIEW

In Part Two I will take a look at how to determine the data governance maturity of an organization. Understanding the maturity of an organization is the first step in determining the next steps to take on the road to managing data for success. To help guide us through organizational maturity, I will use the Data Governance Maturity Model. The model is explained in detail throughout this part. At a high level, the model identifies an organization’s data management practices as being undisciplined, reactive, proactive, or governed based on technology adoption and business capabilities.

The goal of this part is to provide information that will help you classify your organization and help you determine the best approach forward. As organizations elevate their data governance maturity, they reap the rewards of being a better managed business, rewards such as:

• Increased revenue by better managing customers

• Reduced expenses by optimizing operational systems

• Optimized product delivery by better managing the supply chain

At the same time, increasing to a higher level of data maturity will reduce the risks in an organization, such as:

• Compliance violations

• Customer churn

• Poor business decisions

But progressing up the maturity model is not easy. It requires a concerted effort at organizing your work force, at optimizing your business processes, and at ...