Data Governance Strategies for the Digital Age the Digital Age Has Forced Many Companies to Alter—And Sometimes Completely Revamp—Data Governance Processes

Data Governance Strategies for the Digital Age The digital age has forced many companies to alter—and sometimes completely revamp—data governance processes. Learn information management strategies that will help you deal with storage needs unique to the big data era. EDITor’S NOTE FIVE STEPS TO AS THREATS EVOlve, MOBILE DaTA SecURITY DIGITAL INFORMATION COmpaNIES MUST RE- AMBIGUITY RAISES GOVERNANCE EXAMINE DaTA SecURITY UNIQUE GOVERNANCE AND COMPLIANCE CHALLENGES EDITor’S NOTE New Threats, GRC Needs Upend Digital Age Data Governance Through the course of everyday business sure their information stays secure and regu- HOME activities alone, companies in the digital age latory compliant, while still taking advantage EDITor’S NOTE generate, store and maintain a sometimes over- of the digital assets at their disposal. In this whelming amount of “big data.” The digitiza- handbook, we’ll discuss the latest strategies to THE NEW BIG DATA RULES: tion trend has forced companies to alter—and help organizations adapt to the increased stor- FIVE STEPS TO sometimes completely revamp—information age needs, data-specific compliance mandates DIGITAL INFORMATION GOVERNANCE governance strategies and processes to adapt. and security vulnerabilities unique to the digi- Big data governance obstacles don’t end tal age. AS THREATS EVOLVE, COMPANIES MUST there, either: A constant threat of data breaches As information increasingly becomes an RE-EXAMINE DATA SECURITY complicates security processes, while regula- organization’s biggest asset, companies must AND COMPLIANCE tory compliance rules require innovative meth- continue to keep a close eye on governance MOBILE DATA ods to track and analyze information to keep processes to make sure they’re ready for the SECURITY AMBIGUITY RAISES UNIQUE your company on the right side of the law. And, challenges presented by big data. We hope you GOVERNANCE of course, the digital age provides businesses find this information useful to help your busi- CHALLENGES with access to unprecedented amounts of user ness implement the latest data governance data, raising ethical questions for corporations strategies and thrive in the digital age. n that tap into users’ private information for monetary gain. Ben Cole All is not lost, however. With the right big Editor data governance strategy, companies can make SearchCompliance 2 DATA GOVERNANCE STRATEGIES FOR THE DIGITAL AgE BIG DATA GOVERNANCE The New Big Data Rules: Five Steps to Digital Information Governance As data volumes increase exponentially, governance and its objectives differently. Infor- HOME the speed at which they are created is also mation governance means nothing to EDITor’S NOTE accelerating. The amount of data in the digital corporate leadership unless it contributes to universe is astounding, with “geobytes” and creating new wealth. After all, that is why THE NEW BIG DATA RULES: “brontobytes” replacing terabytes as common companies exist. To succeed, information FIVE STEPS TO data storage measurements. At the same time, governance builds and enforces rules for DIGITAL INFORMATION GOVERNANCE governments continue to develop complex data digital information in order to create wealth. management compliance rules. That new wealth is created by targeting two AS THREATS EVOLVE, COMPANIES MUST The SEC’s new Regulation SCI was more than enormous baskets of hidden expenditures: the RE-EXAMINE DATA SECURITY 700 pages. Industrial consortia also continue costs of finding data in everyday business and AND COMPLIANCE to write mandatory new rules or update long- the costs of validating that data as factually MOBILE DATA existing ones like PCI-DSS. This combination accurate. SECURITY AMBIGUITY RAISES UNIQUE of unprecedented storage needs and expanded All of the rules, whether found in official GOVERNANCE compliance regulations makes it very difficult regulations, consortia rulebooks or commercial CHALLENGES for organizations to get a handle on big data agreements, exist to achieve one objective: governance, but here are five strategies to help creating data that can be relied upon as the get you started. truth. When you connect the dots and show how information governance reduces costs, creates SET OBJecTIVES greater net revenues and achieves compliance, First, organizations must define information executive-level support is more easily achieved. 3 DATA GOVERNANCE STRATEGIES FOR THE DIGITAL AgE BIG DATA GOVERNANCE BaKE GOVERNANCE IN FROM THE START doesn’t require governance, including keystroke Second, information governance must be monitoring, voice call recordings, application included in the front end of any design pro- transactions and execution log data. But when cess within the business. Ensuring privacy we ask how that data improves corporate per- by design has become a popular best practice, formance, there can be entirely different design but that only embraces one data classification: outcomes. HOME personally identifiable information. The same EDITor’S NOTE principles should apply to all business processes, whether renovating existing governance MEASURE PERFORMANCE THE NEW BIG DATA RULES: strategies or designing something entirely new. Third, create the metrics that measure gover- FIVE STEPS TO In the 21st century, every process generates nance performance. Governance requires more DIGITAL INFORMATION GOVERNANCE new data that must be governed. Establish- than merely having policies and procedures in ing good governance rules in the very begin- place and expecting associates and contrac- AS THREATS EVOLVE, COMPANIES MUST ning creates enormous savings in later cycles tors to do the right thing. Enforcement of the RE-EXAMINE DATA SECURITY because no one has to ask, “What do we do rules must be included. That means being able AND COMPLIANCE with all of this new data?” to measure performance and quickly calculate MOBILE DATA Another, perhaps more meaningful, benefit when data is not conforming to the rules. SECURITY AMBIGUITY RAISES UNIQUE when moving information into the front end of The metrics must focus on how both GOVERNANCE design is that intense focus is given to how new machines and human assets perform, especially CHALLENGES data will be used toward creating new wealth. because compliance risk is very likely to occur Much of the new volumes of data are gener- within the design of devices and the software ated as very granular, observational data that applications that run on them. A nonreporting Establishing governance rules in the beginning creates enormous savings later because no one has to ask, ‘What do we do with all of this new data?’ 4 DATA GOVERNANCE STRATEGIES FOR THE DIGITAL AgE BIG DATA GOVERNANCE node on a complex system is often a first indi- not require assigning human resources to end- cator of a much larger compliance problem, but less, tedious reviews of log data. Applications if the metrics are not being measured, there is and services can analyze the related log data for little chance to intervene early and limit poten- information security purposes. The competi- tial adverse outcomes. tive secret is to leverage those applications and services already in place at most companies to HOME serve a larger agenda that includes information EDITor’S NOTE ENFORCE YOUR RULES governance rules. Indeed, the Venn diagram Fourth, invest in the resources that can, indeed, overlap between governance and information THE NEW BIG DATA RULES: enforce your information governance rules. security is becoming more and more substan- FIVE STEPS TO In the last two years, numerous major public tial. This is because effective data security DIGITAL INFORMATION GOVERNANCE hacks and system compromises have uncovered achieves much of what information governance that prevent adverse outcomes adverse out- is required to deliver: authentic and secure AS THREATS EVOLVE, COMPANIES MUST comes. The problem was no one was assigned data that can be trusted as an accurate, factual RE-EXAMINE DATA SECURITY the responsibility to review and respond record of a company’s behavior. AND COMPLIANCE quickly. Here is where connecting to the wealth MOBILE DATA creation objective becomes so important. SECURITY AMBIGUITY RAISES UNIQUE Information security teams recognized long KNOW YOUR CUSTOMER GOVERNANCE ago that the hardest part of their work is to Surprisingly, for nearly every business, the CHALLENGES investigate and discover the root cause of an public sector is the consumer of the largest adverse event. When that effort can be avoided, volumes of its electronic data. Virtually every enormous cost savings are possible. But the aspect of any business is subject to regula- solution has to include having someone ready tions that require data in order for the rule of to review, prioritize and investigate the metrics law to be administered: employment practices, before the adverse event occurs. manufacturing practices, accounting practices, Enforcing information governance rules does fleet maintenance, inventory quality control 5 DATA GOVERNANCE STRATEGIES FOR THE DIGITAL AgE BIG DATA GOVERNANCE and so on. But most corporate executive teams performance data that serves as evidence of don’t recognize that new public regulations compliance. To make that data reliable, agen- are intended to better assure that the corpo- cies are imposing requirements on the systems rate information systems create and preserve in which the data is maintained. Spending on factual records relevant to investigations and e-discovery and lawyers to find records is dis- enforcement. In other words, each company

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