Case Study
Protecting enterprise-wide data: How establishing successful data governance forges stronger enterprises
Inspire11 helped a major food distributor adopt self-service analytics by implementing strong data governance and enabling consistent and secure data across the enterprise.
Capabilities
Corporate Strategy
Supply Chain
IT
Industry
Food and Beverage
The opportunity
In today’s digital age, organizations are navigating a complex data landscape. This landscape is shaped by factors like the exponential growth of data, the AI boom, and more. These factors collectively underscore the critical need for robust data governance. Effective data governance ensures compliance, quality, security, and efficient management across global digital environments, enabling organizations to leverage data as a strategic asset for making business decisions while mitigating risks. Data governance is not just a self-serving program, it can be a competitive differentiator in the digital marketplace.
A major food distributor seized the opportunity to enhance its data governance, recognizing the need for clearer processes and the establishment of a formal council to be accountable for data management across the enterprise. This strategic move was aimed at laying the foundation for a more data-driven organization that will inherently result in better data quality and security.
The focus
Inspire11 partnered with the client to strengthen their data management practices and improve overall efficiency. The focus of the partnership was to:
- Enhance data governance practices to maximize the value derived from data and minimize the risk
- Unify definitions for key metrics and data across the enterprise to ensure consistency and accuracy in their operations
- Strengthen internal controls and security measures to protect critical information
- Break down data and analytics silos by streamlining research, documentation, and data preparation processes
- Reduce costs, improve efficiency, and enable teams to leverage collective insights across the enterprise
The solution
To address these challenges, Inspire11 was tasked with establishing a robust data governance program tailored to the unique needs of the client. The solution involved several key initiatives:
Establishment of a data governance framework
Inspire11 developed a tailored data governance framework for the client, ensuring alignment with their specific organizational needs. This structured system encompassed policies, standards, processes, roles, and technologies for maintaining a consistent approach and leveraging data as a strategic asset across the organization.
Creation of a formal Data Governance Council
A significant milestone was the creation of a Data Governance Council. This council played a pivotal role in overseeing the management of data across the organization, making crucial decisions, and setting policies.
Clear processes for ongoing data certification and governance
Inspire11 outlined and implemented clear processes for ongoing data certification and governance. This included defining key interfaces between the organization’s data governance team and all other areas of the organization, ensuring a collaborative approach.
Automated digital workflows
Inspire11 created a step-by-step playbook for data governance and implemented automated digital workflows to ensure ongoing playbook execution. Addressing the governance team’s needs and elevating their capability and profile was instrumental in supporting Business Intelligence and the enterprise overall.
Effective data governance is foundational for any organization looking to secure its information assets, ensure compliance, and enhance decision-making capabilities.
Impact & outcomes
Effective data governance ensured that the organization’s data was managed securely, accurately, and efficiently, fostering trust, compliance, and informed decision-making at every level. This had an impact across the entire business including people, processes, and technology.
An accountable organizational structure
The development of a cross-functional Data Governance Council and two full quarters of successful council meetings led to significant decreases in organizational risk and increased clarity of key data assets.
Enhanced data protection and consistency
The establishment of a formal data governance program and council enabled the organization to protect its data more effectively and ensure consistency across its data assets. This was a crucial step towards enabling true self-service analytics across the organization.
Future-proofed governance execution
The creation of automated workflows and corresponding processes ensures the successful execution of data governance initiatives in the future, enabling future-proofed data governance efforts.
Effective data governance is foundational for any organization looking to secure its information assets, ensure compliance, and enhance decision-making capabilities. By establishing clear policies and procedures for data management, organizations can harness their data’s full potential, driving innovation and maintaining a competitive edge in today’s data-driven landscape.
By addressing the unique challenges and needs of the organization, Inspire11 was able to deliver impactful outcomes that not only mitigated risks but also paved the way for enhanced data utilization across the enterprise.
