Stibo Systems - The Master Data Management Company

Data Governance and Data Protection, a Match Made in Heaven?

Master Data Management Blog by Stibo Systems logo
| 2 minute read
June 29 2021

Data governance supports data protection – in particular, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

Just a few years ago, the discipline of data protection was mainly about securing who had access to your data and ensuring the data did not fall into the wrong hands. Data governance, on the other hand, was mainly about managing your data and improving your data quality. Despite what many people think, data governance and data protection have never been the same thing, and the line between the two disciplines used to be very clear. But now we have a relationship between data governance and data protection where they work together and complement each other. What happened?

Data governance supports data protection

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) happened. The European Union personal data regulation has raised the data protection bar and require businesses to better manage, store and document any personal data they may hold on European citizens. The GDPR requirements are creating the overlap between the two disciplines.

In order to understand how, we need to start with defining what data governance is. Expert in data governance, Nicola Askham, defines it as:

“Proactively managing your data to support your business achieving its strategy and vision.”

 

 

 

 

Data governance is achieved by implementing a data governance framework that consists of policies and processes as well as roles and responsibilities. How does that work together with data protection? Well, let’s apply it to some of the data protection requirements listed in the GDPR.

 

3 data protection requirements listed in the GDPR: 

1. Accountability

According to the GDPR, companies who manage personal data on a larger scale are obligated to have someone accountable, a data protection officer (DPO), whose main task is to make sure the GDPR is met and that individuals have a point of contact if they have questions or concerns about their personal data. In a data governance setup, on the other hand, you’ll have multiple data owners and data stewards, who are all responsible for utilizing an organization’s data governance. Obviously, you’ll have the greatest business impact if you enable all of these employees to work side by side, complimenting and supporting each other, instead of laying the full data responsibility on one person, the DPO.

2. Location

According to the GDPR, businesses need to be able to identify where they store personal data. In GDPR and data protection jargon, optimally you have a comprehensive data map or data inventory overview. But, if you already had robust data governance in place prior to the GDPR, you already had a data glossary that tells you what data belongs to which systems, and data lineage diagrams that show you how data is flowing through the organization.

3. Accuracy

According to the GDPR, personal data shall be accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date, which raises the demand for a certain level of organizational data quality. After all, how will you protect the data if you cannot even guarantee its quality? If you want to improve the quality of your data, having a data quality issue management process and data quality reporting—all basic parts of a solid data governance initiative—should hopefully help resolve it.

 

A long-lasting data governance approach goes beyond data protection

As you see, data governance supports data protection, and in particular the GDPR, in numerous ways. Having solid data governance framework will help your organization to continue meeting GDPR requirements in a sustainable manner. So, if you do not already have the level of data governance you could wish for, or if your data governance efforts do not encompass all your personal data, there’s no better time than now to give it a boost.

GDPR is not going to go away. Now, organizations need to go from project mode into business as usual with the GDPR, and that’s where long-lasting data governance efforts pay off. Furthermore, data governance does not only support data protection, but is the key driver for many positive business outcomes, such as efficiency, accurate reporting, compliance support, reputation and customer experience improvements.

Learn more about how to develop data governance policies and processes:


Topics: 
Master Data Management Blog by Stibo Systems logo

Martin Samuel Nielsen is the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) at Stibo Systems. Martin, who has worked with information security in some of Northern Europe’s biggest companies, including Vestas and Velux, has a great passion for making data protection and information security an integral part of the daily business processes. He holds several personal information security certifications, such as CISA, ESL, CISSP, CISM and CRISC. Martin is also the leading force behind Stibo Systems’ ISO/IEC 27001:2013 certification, the international standard outlining best practices for information security management.

Discover Blogs by Topic

  • MDM strategy
  • Customer and party data
  • Retail and distribution
  • See more
  • Data governance
  • Manufacturing
  • Supplier data
  • Data quality
  • Product data and PIM
  • AI and machine learning
  • CPG
  • Financial services
  • GDPR
  • Sustainability
  • Location data
  • PDX Syndication

Data Governance Trends 2024

1/30/24

NRF 2024 Recap: In the AI era, better data can make all the difference

1/19/24

Building Supply Chain Resilience: Strategies & Examples

12/19/23

How Master Data Management Can Enhance Your ERP Solution

12/14/23

Shedding Light on Climate Accountability and Traceability in Retail

11/29/23

What is Smart Manufacturing and Why Does it Matter?

10/11/23

Future Proof Your Retail Business with Composable Commerce

10/9/23

5 Common Reasons Why Manufacturers Fail at Digital Transformation

10/5/23

How to Digitally Transform a Restaurant Chain

9/29/23

Three Benefits of Moving to Headless Commerce and the Role of a Modern PIM

9/14/23

12 Steps to a Successful Omnichannel and Unified Commerce

7/6/23

CGF Global Summit 2023: Unlock Sustainable Growth With Collaboration and Innovation

7/5/23

Navigating the Current Challenges of Supply Chain Management

6/28/23

Responsible AI relies on data governance

5/11/23

Product Data Management during Mergers and Acquisitions

4/6/23

Master Data Management Definitions: The Complete A-Z of MDM

3/14/23

4 Ways to Reduce Ecommerce Returns

3/8/23

Asset Data Governance is Central for Asset Management

3/1/23

Digital Product Passports

2/24/23

4 Common Master Data Management Implementation Styles

2/21/23

How to Leverage Internet of Things with Master Data Management

2/14/23

Manufacturing Trends and Insights in 2023-2025

2/14/23

Sustainability in Retail Needs Governed Data

2/13/23

What is Augmented Data Management?

2/9/23

NRF 2023: Retail Turns to AI and Automation to Increase Efficiencies

1/20/23

What is the difference between CPG and FMCG?

1/18/23

8 Best Practices for Customer Master Data Management

1/16/23

5 Key Manufacturing Challenges in 2023

1/16/23

What is a Golden Customer Record in Master Data Management?

1/9/23

The Future of Master Data Management: Trends in 2023-2025

1/8/23

Innovation in Retail

1/4/23

5 CPG Industry Trends and Opportunities for 2023-2025

12/5/22

Life Cycle Assessment Scoring for Food Products

11/21/22

Retail of the Future

11/14/22

Omnichannel Strategies for Retail

11/7/22

Hyper-Personalized Customer Experiences Need Multidomain MDM

11/5/22

What is Omnichannel Retailing and What is the Role of Data Management?

10/25/22

Most Common ISO Standards in the Manufacturing Industry

10/18/22

How to Get Started with Master Data Management: 5 Steps to Consider

10/17/22

What is Supply Chain Analytics and Why It's Important

10/12/22

What is Data Quality and Why It's Important

10/12/22

A Data Monetization Strategy - Get More Value from Your Master Data

10/11/22

What Is Master Data Governance – And Why You Need It?

10/7/22

An Introductory Guide: What is Data Intelligence?

10/1/22

Revolutionizing Manufacturing: 5 Must-Have SaaS Systems for Success

9/15/22

An Introductory Guide to Supplier Compliance

9/7/22

What is Application Data Management and How Does It Differ From MDM?

8/29/22

Digital Transformation in the Manufacturing Industry

8/25/22

Master Data Management Framework: Get Set for Success

8/17/22

Discover the Value of Your Data: Master Data Management KPIs & Metrics

8/15/22

Master Data Management Roles and Responsibilities

7/17/22

Supplier Self-Service: Everything You Need to Know

6/15/22

Omnichannel vs. Multichannel: What’s the Difference?

6/14/22

Digital Transformation in the CPG Industry

6/14/22

Create a Culture of Data Transparency - Begin with a Solid Foundation

6/10/22

The 5 Biggest Retail Trends for 2023-2025

5/31/22

What is a Location Intelligence?

5/31/22

Omnichannel Customer Experience: The Ultimate Guide

5/30/22

Location Analytics – All You Need to Know

5/26/22

Omnichannel Commerce: Creating a Seamless Shopping Experience

5/24/22

Top 4 Data Management Trends in the Insurance Industry

5/11/22

What is Supply Chain Visibility and Why It's Important

5/1/22

6 Features of an Effective Master Data Management Solution

4/30/22

What is Digital Asset Management?

4/23/22

The Ultimate Guide to Data Transparency

4/21/22

How Manufacturers Can Shift to Product-as-a-Service Offerings

4/20/22

How to Check Your Enterprise Data Foundation

4/16/22

An Introductory Guide to Manufacturing Compliance

4/14/22

Multidomain MDM vs. Multiple Domain MDM

3/31/22

Making Master Data Accessible: What is Data as a Service (DaaS)?

3/29/22

How to Build a Successful Data Governance Strategy

3/23/22

What is Unified Commerce? Key Advantages & Best Practices

3/22/22

How to Choose the Right Data Quality Tool?

3/22/22

What is a Data Domain?

3/21/22

6 Best Practices for Data Governance

3/17/22

5 Advantages of a Master Data Management System

3/16/22

A Unified Customer View: What Is It and Why You Need It

3/9/22

Supply Chain Challenges in the CPG Industry

2/24/22

Data Migration to SAP S/4HANA ERP - The Fast and Safe Approach with MDM

2/17/22

The Best Data Governance Tools You Need to Know About

2/17/22

Top 5 Most Common Data Quality Issues

2/14/22

What Is Synthetic Data and Why It Needs Master Data Management

2/10/22

What is Cloud Master Data Management?

2/8/22

How to Implement Data Governance

2/7/22

Build vs. Buy Master Data Management Software

1/28/22

Why is Data Governance Important?

1/27/22

Five Reasons Your Data Governance Initiative Could Fail

1/24/22

How to Turn Your Data Silos Into Zones of Insight

1/21/22

How to Improve Supplier Experience Management

1/16/22

​​How to Improve Supplier Onboarding

1/16/22

How to Enable a Single Source of Truth with Master Data Management

1/13/22

What is a Data Quality Framework?

1/11/22

How to Measure the ROI of Master Data Management

1/11/22

What is Manufacturing-as-a-Service (MaaS)?

1/7/22

The Ultimate Guide to Building a Data Governance Framework

1/4/22

Introducing the Master Data Management Maturity Model

1/3/22

Master Data Management Tools - and Why You Need Them

12/20/21

The Dynamic Duo of Data Security and Data Governance

12/20/21

How to Choose the Right Supplier Management Solution

12/20/21

How Data Transparency Enables Sustainable Retailing

12/6/21

What is Supplier Performance Management?

12/1/21

What is Party Data? All You Need to Know About Party Data Management

11/28/21

What is Data Compliance? An Introductory Guide

11/18/21

How to Create a Marketing Center of Excellence

11/14/21

The Complete Guide: How to Get a 360° Customer View

11/7/21

What is the Difference Between Master Data and Metadata?

11/1/21

How Location Data Adds Value to Master Data Projects

10/29/21

How Marketers Should Prepare for the 2023 Holiday Shopping Season

10/26/21

What is Supplier Lifecycle Management?

10/19/21

What is a Data Mesh? A Simple Introduction

10/15/21

How to Build a Master Data Management Strategy

9/26/21

10 Signs You Need a Master Data Management Platform

9/2/21

What Vendor Data Is and Why It Matters to Manufacturers

8/31/21

3 Reasons High-Quality Supplier Data Can Benefit Any Organization

8/25/21

4 Trends in the Automotive Industry

8/11/21

What is Reference Data and Reference Data Management?

8/9/21

What Obstacles Are Impacting the Global Retail Recovery?

8/2/21

GDPR as a Catalyst for Effective Data Governance

7/25/21

All You Need to Know About Supplier Information Management

7/21/21

5 Tips for Driving a Centralized Data Management Strategy

7/3/21

Data Governance and Data Protection, a Match Made in Heaven?

6/29/21

Welcome to the Decade of Transparency

5/26/21

How to Become a Customer-Obsessed Brand

5/12/21

How to Create a Master Data Management Roadmap in Five Steps

4/27/21

What is a Data Catalog? Definition and Benefits

4/13/21

How to Improve the Retail Customer Experience with Data Management

4/8/21

How to Improve Your Data Management

3/31/21

How to Choose the Right Master Data Management Solution

3/29/21

Business Intelligence and Analytics: What's the Difference?

3/25/21

Spending too much on Big Data? Try Small Data and MDM

3/24/21

What is a Data Lake? Everything You Need to Know

3/21/21

How to Extract More Value from Your Data

3/17/21

Are you making decisions based on bad HCO/HCP information?

2/24/21

Why Master Data Cleansing is Important to CPG Brands

1/20/21

CRM 2.0 – It All Starts With Master Data Management

12/19/20

5 Trends in Telecom that Rely on Transparency of Master Data

12/15/20

10 Data Management Trends in Financial Services

11/19/20

Seasonal Marketing Campaigns: What Is It and Why Is It Important?

11/8/20

What Is a Data Fabric and Why Do You Need It?

10/29/20

Transparent Product Information in Pharmaceutical Manufacturing

10/14/20

How to Improve Back-End Systems Using Master Data Management

9/19/20

8 Benefits of Transparent Product Information for Medical Devices

9/1/20

How Retailers Can Increase Online Sales in 2023

8/23/20

Master Data Management (MDM) & Big Data

8/14/20

Key Benefits of Knowing Your Customers

8/9/20

Women in Master Data: Kelly Amavisca, Ferguson

8/5/20

Customer Data in Corporate Banking Reveal New Opportunities

7/21/20

How to Analyze Customer Data With Customer Master Data Management

7/21/20

How to Improve Your 2023 Black Friday Sales in 5 Steps

7/18/20

4 Ways Product Information Management (PIM) Improves the Customer Experience

7/18/20

How to Estimate the ROI of Your Customer Data

7/1/20

Women in Master Data: Rebecca Chamberlain, M&S

6/24/20

How to Personalise Insurance Solutions with MDM

6/17/20

How to Democratize Your Data

6/3/20

How to Get Buy-In for a Master Data Management Solution

5/25/20

How CPG Brands Manage the Impact of Covid-19 in a Post-Pandemic World

5/18/20

5 Steps to Improve Your Data Syndication

5/7/20

Women in Master Data: Gwen Moilanen-Kollar

3/31/20

Marketing Data Quality: Why Is It Important and How to Get Started

3/26/20

Panic Buying: Navigating Long-term Implications and Uncertainty

3/24/20

Women in Master Data: Ditte Brix, IMPACT

2/20/20

Get More Value From Your CRM With Customer Master Data Management

2/17/20

Women in Master Data: Nagashree Devadas, Stibo Systems

2/4/20

How to Create Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) Success for CPG Brands

1/3/20

Women in Master Data: Anna Schéle, Ahlsell

10/25/19

Women in Master Data: Morgan Lawrence, Infoverity

9/26/19

Women in Master Data: Sara Friberg, Acando (Part of CGI)

9/13/19

Improving Product Setup Processes Enhances Superior Experiences

8/21/19

How to Improve Your Product's Time to Market With PDX Syndication

7/18/19

8 Tips For Pricing Automation In The Aftermarket

6/1/19

How to Drive Innovation With Master Data Management

3/15/19

Discover PDX Syndication to Launch New Products with Speed

2/27/19

How to Benefit from Product Data Management

2/20/19

What is a Product Backlog and How to Avoid It

2/13/19

How to Get Rid of Customer Duplicates

2/7/19

4 Types of IT Systems That Should Be Sunsetted

1/3/19

How to Use Customer Data Modeling

11/15/18

How to Reduce Time-to-Market with Master Data Management

10/28/18

How to Start Taking Advantage of Your Data

9/12/18

6 Signs You Have a Potential GDPR Problem

8/16/18

GDPR: The DOs and DON’Ts of Personal Data

6/13/18

How Master Data Management Supports Data Security

6/7/18

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About the GDPR

5/30/18

Understanding the Role of a Chief Data Officer

4/26/18

3 Steps: How to Plan, Execute and Evaluate Any IoT Initiative

2/20/18

How to Benefit From Customer-Centric Data Management

9/7/17

3 Ways to Faster Innovation with Multidomain Master Data Management

6/7/17

Product Information Management Trends to Consider

5/25/17

4 Major GDPR Challenges and How to Solve Them

5/12/17

How to Prepare for GDPR in Five Steps

2/21/17

How Data Can Help Fight Counterfeit Pharmaceuticals

1/24/17

Create the Best Customer Experience with a Customer Data Platform

1/11/17
Did you like this blog post?

Sign up to get the latest blog content in your inbox.