search1 bars

Blog

Data Governance in 2024: Why it’s More Important Than Ever

Data is one of the most essential resources in the modern world. After all, the world runs on data, and key decisions are made based on data. Information is so important that companies spend billions of pounds protecting it. 

But, with over 8 billion data breaches in 2023, it’s evident that many companies don’t take care of their data well enough. And, with regulatory bodies cracking down heavily on companies being careless with their data, your data governance is now more critical than ever.

In this blog, we will go over everything you need to know about data governance and why you need to be on top of your data strategy in 2024. We’ll also look at one of the best tools for ensuring you have an excellent data governance strategy — Microsoft Purview.

The Rising Tide of Data Breaches

Data is the sacred resource of modern business. After all, data can make or break a business from decisions to even data leakage. Good data can help your organisation move forward like a searchlight, but insufficient data being leaked can cause your reputation to shatter. This is why taking care of your data is vital.

That said, only a small fraction of organisations are involved. After all, the 8 billion data breaches mentioned above are partly due to the number of companies that don’t know exactly how important data is. Many companies also simply don’t know how to take care of their data. It’s so important to make sure you’re not one of them.

This isn’t just important for your security, though. Customer trust is at its lowest, with 60% of consumers saying that they believe companies routinely misuse their data. Companies aren’t trusted to take care of customer data, so remaining a cut above the rest is vital. A data breach could taint your business forever in the court of public opinion, so being knowledgeable about data governance is one of the most important things you can do to ensure your company doesn’t fall into that boat.

The Cost of Poor Data Management

It’s not just about your company’s information or reputation, though. Even if those survive, poor data management can be financially awful for your business. In 2023, the average data breach cost reached its highest level ever, at USD 4.45 million. Simply speaking, data breaches can cost your company millions in pure loss.

However, with regulatory bodies getting even tighter on data compliance, failure to comply could be massively costly. Even if you never end up experiencing a data breach, if an audit finds you violating compliance, you could face heavy fines and even litigation, which is why it’s so important to ensure you’re not breaching compliance.

This isn’t even a case of it being a threat. Since its implementation in 2018, many companies have already been fined for breaching GDPR, and the regulatory body in charge of GDPR, the ICO, isn’t afraid to go after companies who breach it. In 2023, they fined Meta (formerly Facebook) EUR 1.2 billion due to its failure to bring data transfers into GDPR compliance.

It’s vital to ensure that you stay within compliance regulations and remain compliant to avoid heavy fines and possibly even worse in the long term. This means keeping compliance; a one-time check isn’t enough; you must stay on top of it.

Microsoft Purview: Your Data Governance Ally

Managing your own data governance can be confusing. Microsoft Purview simplifies the process by giving you a clear picture of your data landscape and how to ensure it’s compliant.

Data Governance in 2024

There are a lot of benefits to using Purview for both compliance and governance to ensure that you protect your data effectively —

These features, and many more, will help you manage your data governance and ensure you don’t fall victim to bad data governance and management. 

Ultimately, whether you have heavily implemented Microsoft 365 into your organisation or simply need a way to manage your data, Microsoft Purview is an essential tool to ensure that you meet data compliance requirements and protect your data.

How We Can Help

Your data governance strategy is vital to your organisation’s prosperity and could honestly be the difference between success and failure. Failing to manage your data can lead to many issues and repercussions, and using a tool like Microsoft Purview will help you keep your data strategy tight.

Contact us today if you need help with data governance but don’t know where to start. Our experts will help you develop a data strategy and show you how to use Purview to improve your data governance.

Get in touch with us now and see how we can help.