Governance: The Quality of Data in Business Transformation

Data Governance and Quality: Keys to Digital Transformation

Digital transformation has been one of the main drivers of innovation and efficiency for companies in recent years. A study conducted by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services revealed that over 77% of the 460 global executives surveyed consider data strategy crucial to the success of a business.

Want more? Digital maturity can vary significantly in ways that impact company performance — global leaders in digital maturity show superior performance, with EBITDA growth rates up to five times higher compared to other companies, according to a Digital Maturity Index study conducted by McKinsey & Company.

But for digitalization to be successful, it is essential that organizations focus on data governance, and more specifically, on data quality. Data governance involves the process of managing, monitoring, and controlling a company’s information, ensuring that it is accurate, secure, and effectively used.

As companies accumulate large volumes of data during their digital transformation journey, ensuring data quality becomes crucial. Whether to optimize operations, create new products, or improve customer experience, data quality is at the core of decision-making. Conversely, inaccurate, outdated, or poorly managed data can lead to process failures and poor decisions.

Data governance ensures that the information used is trustworthy, consistent, and accessible. This involves implementing policies, standards, and processes to ensure data is collected correctly, securely stored, and effectively shared across departments.

Benefits of Data Quality in Companies

Among the benefits of good data governance are data-driven decision-making, greater operational efficiency, compliance, and innovation. Data governance helps, for example, to avoid redundancies and inconsistencies, allowing companies to operate more efficiently and save time and resources.

On the other hand, organizations that maintain strict data governance are better prepared to comply with data protection regulations such as Brazil’s LGPD (General Data Protection Law) and the European GDPR. Finally, companies with well-governed data are better positioned to identify new business opportunities and drive innovation with valuable insights.

Challenges for Companies in Data Governance

Although the benefits are clear, data governance presents several challenges for companies, especially in a constantly evolving digital landscape. Some of the main obstacles include:

Volume and complexity of data: The exponential increase in data volume, along with the variety of sources and formats, makes governance more challenging. Unstructured data such as images, videos, and social media posts require different approaches for storage and analysis.
Lack of a data governance culture: For many companies, data governance is still a new or neglected practice. There is often a lack of processes and dedicated teams to ensure data quality, which can lead to poor collection and misuse of information.
Lack of adequate tools: Data governance requires specialized tools to monitor, control, and integrate data. However, many companies still lack effective software solutions to manage this process in a scalable and efficient way.
Security and privacy: With increasing concerns around data security and user privacy, companies must ensure their governance processes comply with regulations and adequately protect information.
Team training: Digital transformation requires that IT and business teams be well-trained to deal with data complexity. However, there is still a shortage of qualified professionals, which hinders the implementation of best practices.
Although the challenges are significant, many companies are taking important steps to improve data governance and integrate data quality into their digital transformation strategy. Some companies in Brazil, for example, are implementing clear standards and policies, investing in tools, adopting AI-based solutions, and hiring specialized consultancies.

Therefore, my friends, investing in data governance is no longer optional — it’s a necessity for companies that want to stand out in the digital age. By prioritizing data quality, they will be better prepared to face future challenges, increase competitiveness, and achieve long-term success.

So, shall we get to work? The road may seem complex, but there’s no turning back.

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