In today’s digital age, data has become the lifeblood of every business. Entrepreneurs are responsible for safeguarding their customers’ data by ensuring its accuracy, security, and compliance with industry regulations.
Data stewardship refers to managing and protecting a company’s data assets to maximize its value. This may include using tools and trusted data governance solutions with MDM.
In this blog, we will discuss the key responsibilities of data stewards every entrepreneur should know to build a successful business.
Establish Data Governance Policies
The first responsibility of a data steward is to establish data governance policies that align with the business’s objectives. The data governance policies should cover data quality, access, security, privacy, retention, and backup.
Data governance policies help stewards ensure that data is managed effectively across the organization and reduce the risk of data breaches or cyber-attacks. By establishing data governance policies, entrepreneurs can also minimize the risk of data breaches and protect their organizations from unforeseen liabilities.
The success of a business relies heavily on the quality and accuracy of its data, and entrepreneurs can ensure that their data is effectively managed by establishing robust data governance policies with the help of data stewards.
Ensure Data Quality
One of the primary responsibilities of data stewards is to ensure data quality. This means they must assess, analyze, and verify your business’s data’s accuracy, reliability, and consistency.
Data stewards must identify and resolve errors or inconsistencies and ensure that all data is up-to-date and relevant. By consistently ensuring data quality, you can maximize the value of your business’s data and make better-informed decisions that benefit your business.
Ultimately, data stewards play a vital role in helping your business achieve its goals, and as such, every entrepreneur must understand their key responsibilities.
Protect Data Assets
Data stewards must protect data assets from unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. They must implement robust security measures, such as access controls, firewalls, data encryption, multi-factor authentication, and intrusion detection systems.
Data stewards should also conduct security audits and risk assessments to identify and mitigate potential threats.
Lead Data Stewardship Training
Data stewards are also responsible for training employees on data stewardship. They educate individuals about the importance of data, handling it, and complying with data governance policies.
This includes training employees on data privacy regulations, data governance tools, data quality standards, and data usage policies. Data stewards ensure that data-driven decisions are made based on reliable and accurate data.
Ensure Regulatory Compliance
Data stewards must ensure the business complies with relevant industry regulations, such as GDPR, CCPA, HIPAA, and SOX. They need to keep abreast of the latest regulatory updates and ensure that the business’s data management practices are aligned with the applicable laws and regulations.
Communication & Collaboration
Effective communication and collaboration is key to data management success. Data stewards should work closely with organizational departments to develop and implement data governance policies.
They should also communicate the importance of data management to create a culture of accountability that promotes data quality, accuracy, and security.
Data Analysis & Reporting
Data stewards are responsible for analyzing and reporting on the data the business collects to extract insights and drive actionable results. They must use advanced analytics tools and techniques to extract meaningful insights from big data and communicate findings effectively to stakeholders.
Data stewards should also provide data-driven recommendations to support business operations and strategy.
Final Thoughts
Data stewardship is a critical function that every entrepreneur should prioritize to maintain the integrity and security of their data assets. Data stewards must establish data governance policies, ensure data quality, protect data assets, ensure regulatory compliance, and conduct data analysis and reporting to drive data-driven decision-making.
By following these key responsibilities, entrepreneurs can build a successful business that thrives in the digital age. It’s always better to be safe than sorry regarding data management.
