Data governance is the overall management of the availability, usability, integrity, and security of data used in an enterprise. A sound data governance program includes a governing body, a defined set of procedures and a plan to execute those procedures. Information Management brought this interesting topic to our attention in their article, “Opinion How to succeed in a career in data governance.”

Data governance professionals take responsibility for creating and upholding data governance plans. They also commonly build and interact with data governance bodies within the organization and depend on those parties to update data governance policies as a company’s needs change. A successful data governance plan cannot succeed without data governance professionals.

A career in data governance requires having a problem-solving mindset, leadership qualities, and excellent communication and interpersonal skills as you will be interacting with everyone from the top managers to the people at a company in entry-level positions who deal with data in limited capacities.

Data governance is not the right career for everyone, but it’s an increasingly attractive option.

Melody K. Smith

Sponsored by Data Harmony, a unit of Access Innovations, the world leader in indexing and making content findable.