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June 2021 Newsletter
Here are highlights from our latest issue.
Information vs. Data Management
For many organizations, data has become vital to business operations and growth. As a longtime practitioner, it’s been gratifying to see that managing both data and information as assets has become a strategic business focus and C-suite conversation.
Occasionally, our clients will ask us about the difference between information management vs. data management to better understand the terminology, strategy and nuanced value each brings to an organization. Many in our industry often use the terms interchangeably with no issues. But whenever FSFP is asked to compare the two, we highlight key differences to level-set on a baseline definition.
Information is a grouping of aggregated and derived data, including the models and algorithms that do the aggregation, derivation and calculations. We think of information as reports, documents, dashboards and other visualized data. Data is the raw element that is typically held in a data store, such as a database, or even a spreadsheet. Data is most valuable when it is given or presented in context.
We view information management as an overarching program that manages the people, processes and technology that provide control over the structure, processing, delivery and enterprise-wide usage of information. This broad capability spans from document and records management to advanced analytics.
And we see data management as a subset of an information management program. It comprises all disciplines related to managing data as a valuable, organizational and trusted resource. More specifically, it is the process of creating, obtaining, transforming, sharing, protecting, documenting and preserving data. Typically, this is described as master data management, metadata management and data quality, all being guided by data governance.
Hopefully, it is obvious that these capabilities are closely related and in some instances the words “information” and “data” are interchangeable.
Does your organization have information management and data management programs? How do they align? How do they diverge? We’re always looking to learn from new perspectives.
Cheers,
Kelle O’Neal
Underpin Cloud Adoption with Governance
Many organizations believe data in the cloud should be highly aligned and loosely coupled, but this doesn’t mean governance isn’t needed. In fact, the opposite is true. Cloud data governance provides a set of organizational structures, policies and processes for managing data-related activities in the cloud ecosystem.
A robust cloud data governance strategy, with data understanding, can ensure accountability for data in every cloud solution — and that’s the focus of this month’s feature article, Why Data Governance Should Be Part of Your Journey to the Cloud.
“Future of Data” Panel Recap
Earlier this month, Kelle joined Okera’s inaugural AIRSIDE LIVE event focused on critical areas for information management practitioners: data management, governance, security and privacy.
Kelle spoke on data privacy and ethics in one session and also participated in a panel. Here’s our recap of the Future of Data Panel with Kelle O’Neal, et al., which included women leaders from data and tech companies StreamSets, vArmour and Welltok and the nonprofit How Women Lead.
Collibra Best Practices
“Metagovernance” refers to everything you need to do to maintain and improve a Collibra environment and its contents over time. This includes guidelines, policies, processes, standards and tools — essentially everything that’s in place to ensure Collibra continues to provide value with up-to-date, reliable and safe information.
In Integrate (Meta)governance for Collibra Adoption, Becky Lyons, a senior consultant from FSFP, shares best practices that help you get the most out of a Collibra investment, use the platform efficiently and drastically reduce the risks of errors.
If your organization is considering Collibra — or if it’s new to using this data intelligence solution — here’s timely information about DATAVERSITY’s training coming up next month.
The instructors, Gretchen Burnham and Becky Lyons from FSFP, will cover Collibra adoption, implementation and best practices. Learn more about the workshop and register here — and save 20% on the training when you use our discount code (FSFP) at check-out.