Given its relative newness, data governance can almost seem ignorable to many organizations—until it isn’t. A lot of organizations start getting serious about data governance when it becomes apparent they can’t trust their data. Or when compliance issues cause trouble. Or when they simply want to get more from their data.
A better answer is to start before you run into trouble, of course, and that doesn’t have to be pricey, daunting, or time-consuming. Principal Consultant Paola Saibene would even tell you it’s fun—and she does, in this podcast from Alation.
Taking a Bottom-up Approach to Data Governance
The benefits of data governance are legion—with consistent, reliable, high-quality data come improved decision-making, planning, and financial performance. It’s just that the path from Point A to Point B can look like a knot, and not every approach finds success. Paola has helped organizations of all kinds find a smooth path to the benefits of data governance.
“I’ve worked in many places—government, commercial, nonprofit, education—and many folks at the top level would say, ‘Yes, we’re supporting [data governance],’” Paola said. “But from saying it to actually doing it, there’s quite a bit of a gap sometimes. I think with a good design and a strategy in place, a bottom-up approach tends to work better than top-down.”
Part of that process, in her experience, is educational gamification and exercises for the team members in lower management: “Give people performance indicators tied to improving the health of the data, or find ways of actually increasing literacy without having to watch another compliance webinar or the usual data-related classes that put you to sleep.”
About Alation’s Data Radicals Podcast
Alation co-founder and CEO Satyen Sangani wants to empower a curious and rational world. He’s on a mission to fundamentally improve the way data consumers, creators, and stewards find, understand, and trust data.
This podcast seeks out thought leaders who approach problems with a curious and rational mind—those who think differently and encourage others to embrace data culture.
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