Gain Control of Business Data to Reduce Costs, Increase Productivity, Inform Decisions, and Improve Security

If the specter of a data subject access request or an eDiscovery sends your organization into fire drill mode, it is time to gain control of business data. Unmanaged data reduces productivity and hampers decision making. And it creates significant compliance and security risks. On the other hand, organizations that manage data effectively see a measurable return on investment.

Reduce Cost and Time of eDiscovery

For many companies, the data governance wakeup call comes with a data request for pending litigation. Under a time crunch, the legal team or IT department scramble to locate relevant data spread across various on-premises and cloud environments. Missing deadlines or submitting incomplete data sets can result in stiff penalties and undesirable legal outcomes.

On the other hand, a company that has proactively mapped and indexed its data can search data in place. They can even run light reviews to identify duplicates and cull out irrelevant information prior to data collection. Early data assessment allows them to reduce the eDiscovery data set with confidence that they have included all relevant data.

eDiscovery costs typically account for 20 to 50 percent of the costs associated with litigation. But when organizations can quickly locate relevant data, and when they can avoid over collection of data, they significantly reduce the associated costs. Additionally, by reducing the time involved in data collection and review, they can address case strategy early on.

Increase Productivity

When users cannot find the information they need, they waste precious time searching for and even re-creating that information. On the other hand, when companies index and organize their data, users can quickly locate relevant data of good quality. And with role-based access controls, users no longer need to wait for IT to grant critical access requests.

Additionally, well-governed data supports a mobile workforce. For instance, when a work group stores documents in the team’s SharePoint site, users can access necessary documents from anywhere. And because they work from a shared document instead of a copy of a document, they always have the latest edits.

Inform Strategic Decision Making

Successful companies increasingly depend on data-driven decision making to give them a competitive edge. For instance, machine performance data helps factory technical teams predict maintenance needs and reduce downtime. And analysis of ad performance and buying trends helps marketing teams hone their marketing campaigns.

However, sound decisions rely on decision makers having access to high quality data. Old or redundant data will deliver faulty findings. Likewise, when data silos result in incomplete data sets, strategists lack the full picture and cannot properly assess risks and opportunities.

Data management reduces the chance for error by reducing redundancy, increasing data visibility, and controlling data lifecycle. Decision makers can thus access the right information at the right time, responding more efficiently to changing markets and customer needs.

Improve Regulatory Compliance and Data Security

Poorly governed data opens the door for compliance issues and even data breaches. Privacy laws and industry regulations mandate proper data retention and prohibit inappropriate data sharing. Additionally, organizations hold an ethical and legal responsibility to protect customer data and a business imperative to secure company data.

Strategic data classification ensures that data will be retained or destroyed according to regulatory requirements. It also helps to minimize the risk of improper data transfer. And when organizations implement strong authentication measures and access monitoring, they close the door against hackers.

Gain Control of Business Data with Effective Data Governance

Data governance holds the key to achieving control of critical business data. For instance, by mapping data assets and implementing customized sensitivity and retention labels, companies can monitor data across environments. They can also apply encryption policies by data type, further protecting sensitive data.

It takes time to fully design and implement the right data governance strategies. The data governance consultants at Messaging Architects will help your organization identify first steps and begin gaining control of essential data assets.

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