Data Governance in 2024: Why it's More Important Than Ever
Data is one of the most important resources in the modern world.
The world runs on data, and key decisions are all made on the basis of data. Information is so important that companies spend billions of dollars to protect theirs.
But, with over 8 billion data breaches in 2023, it’s obvious that a lot of companies simply don’t take care of their data well enough. And, with regulatory bodies cracking down heavily on companies being careless with their data, your data governance is now more important than ever.
In this article, we’re going to go over everything you need to know about data governance and all of the reasons why you need to be on top of your data strategy in 2024.
The Rising Tide of Data Breaches
Data can make or break a business. Of the 8 billion data breaches in 2023, a lot of those companies just simply didn’t know how to take care of their data. It’s so important to make sure you’re not one of them.
This isn’t just important for your security. Customer trust is at its lowest, with 60% of consumers saying that they believe companies routinely misuse their data. Companies just aren’t trusted to take care of customer data — which is why remaining a cut above the rest is so vital. A data breach could taint your business forever in the court of public opinion, so being knowledgeable about data governance is one of the most important things you can do to ensure that your business doesn’t fall into that boat.
The Cost of Poor Data Management
It’s not just about your company’s information or reputation. Even in the case that those survive, poor data management can be awful for your business financially. In 2023, the average cost of a data breach reached its highest level ever, at 4.45 million USD. Simply speaking, data breaches can cost your company millions in pure loss.
However, with regulatory bodies getting even tighter on data compliance, failure to comply could be massively costly. Even if you never end up experiencing a data breach, if an audit finds you in breach of compliance, you could face heavy fines and even litigation — which is why it’s so important to make sure you’re not breaching compliance.
This isn’t even a case of it being a threat. Many companies have already been fined for breaching GDPR since its implementation in 2018, and the regulatory body in charge of GDPR — the ICO — arent afraid to go after companies who breach it. In 2023, they fined Meta (formerly Facebook) EUR 1.2 billion due to its failure to bring its data transfers into compliance with GDPR.
With this, it’s vital to make sure that you stay within compliance regulations, to ensure that you don’t get hit by tons of fines and possibly even worse in the long term. This means keeping in compliance too — a one-time check isn’t enough to ensure that you remain compliant, you need to stay on top of it.
Microsoft Purview: Your Data Governance Ally
Taking care of your own data governance can be a confusing process. Microsoft Purview makes it a simple one, by giving you a clear picture of your data landscape and how to ensure it’s compliant.
There are a lot of benefits to using Purview for both compliance and governance, to ensure that you are protecting your data effectively:
· Unified Platform:
Purview gives you a unified platform to manage compliance across all of your data. From on-premises to cloud, and even SaaS tools, you can do everything in Purview.
· Data discovery and classification:
Purview lets you scan and classify data based on its sensitivity and context, letting you identify and understand how to apply compliance controls to your data.
· Compliance Management:
Purview is fully integrated with specific compliance frameworks and provides tools and templates to meet those regulations. This includes key regulations such as GDPR, HIPPA, and PCI DSS.
· Data lifecycle management:
All data has a lifecycle, and managing that lifecycle is a vital part of your data governance strategy. Using Purview, you can take advantage of its tools to manage the retention and deletion of data based on business and legal requirements.
Whether you have Microsoft 365 heavily implemented into your organisation or simply just need a way to look after your data, Microsoft Purview is an essential tool to ensure that you meet data compliance requirements and protect your data all around.
How We Can Help
Your data governance strategy is vital to your organisation's prospering, and could honestly be the difference between success and failure. Failing to take care of your data can lead to a lot of issues and repercussions, and using a tool like Microsoft Purview will help you keep your data strategy tight.
If you need help with data governance but don’t know where to start, reach out to our expert team today. We will help you get a data strategy together and show you how to use Purview to take your data governance to the next level.
Get in touch with us and see how we can help.