Increasingly when I talk to customers about their plans for master data management or data quality, the area of data governance comes up. Data governance is the set of business processes and controls that surround the lifecycle of data, rather than necessarily involving technology. Some MDM vendors provide sophisticated support for data governance, others less so, but I believe that it is key to the success of a data initiative. Without thinking about the processes, it is of limited use to just put in a piece of technology, or carry out a once-off data cleansing exercise without considering what happens next.

Indeed in talking recently with data quality vendors, a number have commented on how the increasing profile that data governance is getting has enabled them to, in turn, get a higher profile. Previously data quality was seen by many companies as strictly something for IT or those direct mail geeks in their marketing department, but now data quality is getting an airing as part of broader initiatives to improve data across the board.

In order to put more flesh on the data governance bone, The Information Difference is conducting a major piece of primary market research into data governance. You can be part of this by taking the survey Completed surveys will receive a full copy of the research, and there is even a prize draw with exciting and valuable prizes (this view may depend a little on your taste) to tempt you.