Welcome to the Dear Laura blog series! As I’ve been working to challenge the status quo on Data Governance – I get a lot of questions about how it will “really” work. I’ll be sharing these questions and answers via this DATAVERSITY® series. In 2019, I wrote the book “Disrupting Data Governance” because I firmly believe […]
How a Modern Data Engineering Stack Can Help Create a Data-Driven Culture
Creating a collaborative, data-driven culture is one of the most important goals of many modern organizations. However, access to the data and data processing tools remains restricted to the selected few technical users or upper management echelons. Data-driven culture cannot exist without the democratization of the data. Data democratization certainly does not mean unrestricted access to all […]
Why Data Quality Problems Plague Most Organizations (and What to Do About It)
For business leaders to make informed decisions, they need high-quality data. Unfortunately, most organizations – across all industries – have Data Quality problems that are directly impacting their company’s performance. Case in point: In a recent survey conducted by my company, practitioners were asked about the issues that plague their work, how much they trust their organization’s […]
The Trend Toward Emphasizing Data Minimization
With GDPR being the “shot heard ’round the world,” the digital industry, the regulators, and the courts have developed and readjusted the way in which we need to think about this revolutionary body of law. Through this experience, I’ve had a few flashback analogies to Y2K: Leading up to the event, it was a period […]
Data Access Governance Is Key to Going Faster
Every day, businesses create, collect, compile, store, and share exponentially growing amounts of data. When put to use effectively, sales teams can boost revenue, marketing can improve the customer experience, HR can keep employees happy, and so on. But we all know that cyberattacks are on the rise and evolving data privacy legislation has led to the […]
3 Data Management Tips to Help Plan for the Day After Tomorrow
Economic disruptions are forcing organizations to rethink the way they plan. Gone are the days of Excel and manual forecasting because much like the dystopian film “The Day After Tomorrow,” leaders have no idea what the next day will hold. Disruptions, whether geopolitical, pandemic, legislative, or workforce-related, never seem to end. While we may wish […]
Data Audit in the Age of Machine Learning: Goals and Challenges
Despite its many benefits, the emergence of high-performance machine learning systems for augmented analytics over the last 10 years has led to a growing “plug-and-play” analytical culture, where high volumes of opaque data are thrown arbitrarily at an algorithm until it yields useful business intelligence. What does this mean in terms of data audit? Let’s discuss it. […]
How to Overcome the Plateau of Data Analytics Advancement in Today’s Data Overload
The last few years have seen an astronomical increase in the amount of data being created, stored, and shared. According to the IDC, 64.2 zettabytes of data were created or replicated in 2020 largely due to the dramatic increase in the number of people staying home for work, school, and entertainment. The firm also projects the […]
Focus on Your Most Critical Data Lineage to Manage Risk
Data lineage is extremely important since unknowns in the data flow are a root cause of enterprise risk. Enterprise Risk Management and Data Governance professionals are teaming up to implement the “Three Lines of Defense” model (3LOD). The goal of 3LOD is to provide an early detection and risk mitigation warning system. Line 1 includes Management […]
As Data Privacy Concerns Ramp Up, the Need for Governed Real-Time Data Has Never Been Greater
This year’s Privacy Awareness Week (May 2-8) may be over, but it served as a reminder to look beyond the usual access controls and think about how analytics could be used to support compliance. Data privacy is essential for any business, but it is especially important at a time when consumers are taking notice and new regulations are being deployed. […]