Choosing Data Governance Battles

In the food industry, systems of control are so sophisticated that if a customer complains they feel unwell after eating an egg mayonnaise sandwich, in many cases the manager of the deli will not only remove all similar products from the shelves, but will also be able to trace the problem back to a particular vat of mayo and even back to the farm and hen at the start of the production chain.

During a Waters webcast about data governance, sponsored by managed data services vendor Rimes Technologies, experts in the field explained why similar levels of control are needed for data management in the financial industry, and why processes and procedures should be put in place so it is clear who did what to a firm's data, why they did it and when.

The speakers highlighted a variety of reasons why data governance is gaining more attention. Allie Harris, Toronto-based director, enterprise data management and process analytics at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, said regulations are helping to focus minds on the need for clear policies and procedures regarding the management and use of data. She said the legal entity identifier project, reporting requirements of the Dodd-Frank Act and European Market Infrastructure Regulation, and due diligence and client identification requirements of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act are leading to greater awareness of data maturity and data governance.

Cost Control

Firms' desire to reduce costs is also driving them to focus on the governance of their data. "The cost of creating, maintaining, transforming and archiving bad data, or the wrong data, is a cost organizations wish to shed, and those costs are growing exponentially as the data grows," said Harris.