By Edward Roske, Chief Performance Officer, Argano
Think back to the last time you were at a busy restaurant. Along with the other hungry customers, you eagerly waited for your delicious meal to arrive. Glancing towards the open kitchen, you saw a bustling place full of staff working together to create culinary masterpieces. The head chef was barking orders like a wannabe Gordon Ramsay, the sauté chef was flipping pans on the stove, the pastry chef was frosting cakes, and the line cook was grilling steaks. Each chef had their specialty, but they were all working together in harmony to create a cohesive, tasty, and timely dining experience for the customers.
Just like the kitchen in a restaurant, building a strong digital foundation requires teamwork and coordination. In the digital world, data is the raw ingredient that must be carefully managed and transformed into valuable insights. What makes sure this transformation doesn’t result in something tasting not unlike garbage? Data governance. The activity of managing your enterprise data is like the head chef who ensures that every dish is made according to an exact recipe and meets the high standards of the restaurant.
Data governance is the set of processes and policies that ensure that data is properly managed and protected throughout its lifecycle. It involves defining who can access and use the data, how the data should be handled, and how it should be disposed of when it is no longer needed.
Just as chefs and their staff use recipes to ensure that their dishes are consistent and of high quality, data governance uses policies and procedures to ensure that data is properly managed and protected. This includes defining data security, determining how the data should be reported on (including how it should be aggregated as it goes up the hierarchy), and maintaining data only as long as it needs to be retained.
In a restaurant, not everyone in the kitchen has access to all the ingredients; some staff members are responsible for preparing the raw ingredients, while others are responsible for cooking and plating the dishes. In the same way, not all employees in an organization need access to all the data. Data governance policies define who can access and use the data, and how the data should be protected from unauthorized access.
Imagine a chef who decides to use a new ingredient without considering how it will affect the taste of the dish. This could lead to a disaster in the kitchen, just like using data without proper governance can lead to problems in an organization. Data governance policies help to prevent these kinds of problems by ensuring that data is used in a consistent and controlled manner.
Now that we've covered why data governance is essential for building a strong digital foundation, let's dive into the 7-step recipe for data governance success:
However, just like in a restaurant, things don't always go as planned. That's why it's important to have a taste tester and the right equipment to help. In the digital world, this is the role of a data steward and an application like Oracle Enterprise Data Management (EDM). The data steward is responsible for ensuring that data is being used and managed in accordance with the data governance framework. They are the ones who will taste-test your data and ensure it's up to the standards set by the recipe. Oracle EDM is a cloud-based solution that allows your team of data stewards, data managers, business owners, and other stakeholders to align and manage the enterprise data from different enterprise applications all from one, secure place. Using this solution, one of your most valuable ingredients—your enterprise data—can be managed and governed to produce valuable and accurate insights for your entire organization.
When it comes to building a strong digital foundation, data governance ensures that all dishes are cooked to perfection and served with precision. In the same way, by following these seven steps to data governance, you'll be whipping up a winning recipe for enterprise data management that is of the highest quality, properly managed, and as trustworthy as a gourmet meal from a Michelin-rated restaurant.
Within your grasp is a world where your data is organized like a perfectly arranged pantry, where each item has its place and is easily accessible when needed. No more digging through a pile of stale crackers to find the precious jar of truffle oil or searching for that one specific file buried deep within the depths of your computer. With the proper data governance in place, you'll have peace of mind knowing that your data is well-maintained, protected, and ready for action when you need it.
So, put on your chef’s hat, grab your apron, preheat your digital oven, and let's get cooking! Embrace the power of data governance and watch as your digital foundation earns a 5-star Yelp review.
I’d love to hear your thoughts and questions as you cook up your data governance strategy. Please email me at Edward.Roske@Argano.com and hey, stay safe out there. Even master chefs can find themselves in a kitchen nightmare.
Previous Post