More Focus Needed on the Business Case for Data Management,Not Just Technology Solutions

NEW YORK, Feb. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- More than half (60.8 percent) of 400 technology executives polled online by Deloitte believe metrics that gauge cost, time, quality and risk, along with governance compliance dashboards, are the most effective types of data management and governance measurements. Polled during the recent Deloitte webcast, "Information Management Goes-Enterprise-Wide: A Unifying Approach to Data Governance," executives also believe that focusing attention on the business case for data management is more important than just considering what type of technology might solve information governance issues.

"The first question I hear from clients is about the type of technology they need for successful data management when the truth is the systems have been available for years, but not the business focus on the process and measurement of their data," said Jane Griffin, principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP and a webcast presenter.  "Everyone also has different definitions for data management. Companies need to collectively build their own internal group to help set local, regional and global standards and monitoring data. The goal should be to centralize the process in and have a federated approach with a governing body which can then address specific topics one at a time."

Griffin and other webcast presenters said doing data management for the sake of it as a task simply is not worth it. Data management, they noted, has to be connected to something worthwhile to the organization, such as having a supply chain-related discussion with a vendor regarding quality control issues. Further, executives need to get back to basics and understand the root of their data management problem before it can be effectively addressed. The first step is to determine the business need and a business outcome.

Other notable polling results included:

• A mere 7.4 percent of technology executives said their companies tried to implement a data governance program and were either unsuccessful or searching for new ideas and guidance on implementing data governance.
• More than a third (36.4 percent) think the chief information officer (CIO) should be the sponsor and accountable for data governance in an organization; 8 percent favored the chief technology officer (CTO).  
• Just over 20 percent of respondents believed enterprise information asset optimization (i.e. - data warehouse rationalization) is the most pressing business problem within their organizations; 15.5 percent chose data asset specific optimization (i.e. - customer, products, and supplier) as their top problem.

Tim Walsh, senior manager, Deloitte Consulting LLP, and a webcast presenter, outlined the following steps for executives to consider regarding data management and governance:

• Demonstrate the value early and deploy a set of governance capabilities to meet a prioritized set of business requirements and then broaden the program to achieve greater measured value. This is vital to success.
• Measure adoption against framework regularly - measure the maturity and adoption of the data governance program on an annual basis against an effective framework.
• Mobilize the stakeholder community to operationalize a new process and sustain change.

To hear the webcast please visit: www.deloitte.com/us/dbriefs/futurete.

About the Polling

The polling responses came from more than 400 technology executives ranging from upper management to consultant across multiple industries responded to the polling questions during Deloitte's webcast on January 14. The information obtained during the survey was taken "as is" and was not validated or confirmed by Deloitte.

About Deloitte

As used in this document, "Deloitte" means Deloitte Consulting LLP and Deloitte Services LP, which are separate subsidiaries of Deloitte LLP.  Please see www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries.

SOURCE Deloitte Consulting LLP

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