Data is often called the raw material of the information age, and it does share characteristics with the resources that power other industries. For example, imagine trying to make a car out of unrefined iron ore. A lot of processing happens between the mine and the factory. Data is no different. In its “raw” form, […]
AI Governance in Action: Practical Insights from a Data-Driven Enterprise
As AI adoption skyrockets, how can organizations harness its power responsibly? AI promises enhanced decision-making and customer interactions, but it comes with ethical, compliance, and infrastructure risks. Consequently, AI governance is crucial to address these risks. In response, many businesses turn to their established data governance (DG), aiming to leverage existing controls and procedures. However, AI introduces […]
Data Product vs. Data as a Product (DaaP): Understanding the Difference
Data quality (DQ), which ensures that data is fit for business and consumer needs, remains a significant challenge and is growing more complex. According to a dbt Labs 2024 report, 57% of survey respondents identified data quality as a challenging aspect to data preparation, up from 41% in 2022. To address these data quality challenges, companies increasingly […]
How to Build a Data Governance Program in 90 Days
For many people in business, the mention of a data governance program evokes excessive red tape, bureaucratic drag, and, most of all, outsiders meddling in daily operations. “What is the preconceived notion about data governance? We are the police, we tell you no, we tell you to stop, we slow you down,” said Sherry Hidalgo, director of […]
How to Govern a Business Glossary
Many people see the dictionary as a thing of unquestionable authority, with words and meanings that rarely change. Likewise, in corporate culture, business leaders often mistake the business glossary – a collection of data-related terms and definitions used within an organization – as being static, straightforward, and simple to develop and maintain. Timothy Mulholland, associate manager and […]
What Is Active Metadata and Why Does It Matter?
Metadata is like the secret sauce of the internet. You type a word or phrase in a search engine, press enter, and the information you’re looking for appears (usually). An action that once seemed “indistinguishable from magic,” to quote the third of Arthur C. Clarke’s three laws, is now as commonplace as heating up leftovers in […]
Choosing a Data Quality Tool: What, Why, How
Data-driven organizations are in a race to collect the information that modern analytics techniques rely on to generate insights and guide business decisions. The ever-growing flow of data into business systems challenges companies to devise new techniques for ensuring the quality of the data as its quantity skyrockets. Data quality tool vendors are rising to […]
A Brief History of Data Ethics
In this digital age, where data is an increasingly integral asset for every organization, the ethical implications surrounding data collection, storage, and usage have become prominent. The evolution and history of data ethics is a complex journey that connects technological advancements with societal values and legal frameworks. Understanding this evolution requires examining key historical milestones and the […]
Creating a Successful Data Quality Strategy
Maximizing the value of data often comes down to ensuring it’s in the right place at the right time and in the right form. While that process may produce magical-seeming results, the road to creating an optimal data quality strategy need not be mystifying. This was the guiding message delivered by Monika Kapoor – director […]
Improving Data Quality with Data Stewardship
To get value from data, data stewards must understand and apply business requirements. When business ambiguity arises about how to best serve data stakeholders, data stewards need to know how to find out this information and with whom to speak. By doing so, stewards can align fit-for-purpose data with business needs and improve data quality. Data stewards understand […]