The terms information governance and data governance are often used interchangeably. However, they do not refer to exactly the same thing. Understanding the differences between them is essential to developing an effective approach to enterprise information management. Information governance is not limited to traditional records management. It includes information security and protection, compliance, data quality, data governance, eDiscovery, risk management, data privacy, data storage and archiving, knowledge management, business operations and management, audit, analytics, IT management, master data management, enterprise architecture, business intelligence, big data, data science and finance. [4] There are many regional and international standards for large-scale information management, and the regulatory compliance landscape is changing every year. However, the fundamental concepts of information governance have remained largely the same. These include security and confidentiality, integrity and authenticity, information lifecycle management, and business continuity. But information governance is more than just a legal and ethical obligation. Establishing a robust and adaptable framework can help organizations extract more value from their information and make smarter, more informed decisions. Document management deals with creating, retaining, storing, and deleting records. A record can be a physical, tangible, or digital object such as a database, application data, and email.
In the past, the life cycle was considered the time from creation to final disposal of a data set. As data generation exploded over the past few decades and regulations and compliance issues increased, traditional records management couldn`t keep up. A more comprehensive platform for records and information management has become necessary to cover all phases of the lifecycle, leading to the adoption of information governance. [5] Any successful enterprise information governance program involves several elements, and here are some of the key pillars: archiving solutions for information governance, legal, compliance, and risk management. Information does not have an inherent lifespan, but it must have a predefined lifecycle from the moment it is first captured to the moment it is securely archived or disposed of. The time information spends at each stage of the lifecycle and why varies greatly by content, type, and industry. You should always start by addressing legal factors such as privacy regulations to know what the lifecycle of your information should be. After making more pressing legal commitments and business priorities, you can move to standard lifecycle processes that impact the entire business and document how information should be collected, stored, processed, archived, and disposed of.
Part of an information governance system is to set standards for when and how records and records should be disposed of within the organization. Guidelines are in place to determine when the organization no longer needs to be retained or captured for compliance and regulatory purposes. In most cases, if a lawsuit arises and the organization has faithfully deleted or destroyed data in accordance with program policies, the organization cannot be obligated to submit that data for disclosure. It is also important to determine how organizations work and share information with their partners, stakeholders, and suppliers. Your framework should define policies and procedures for sharing information with third parties, how the information governance process affects contractual obligations, and how to determine whether your partners and third parties are meeting your IG objectives. Information governance provides organizations with a disciplined approach to managing the risks and values associated with information. Information governance software provides the automated tools the business needs to meet the enormous demands of information governance. Identifying, analyzing, adopting, and implementing the right software is critical to achieving information governance objectives. Want to know how Onna can unify your information governance processes? Our knowledge integration platform brings your data together to simplify governance, privacy, compliance, and eDiscovery. To learn more, click here. Information governance makes information more accessible to those who need it, which is essential for any business. Organizations of all types and sizes often suffer from poor organization and mismanagement of information assets, resulting in issues of accessibility, usability, timeliness, and security, which can have a positive impact on governance.
Information governance (or information management and governance – see above) is an emerging discipline, so there is still some debate about the role it plays in the business. Nevertheless, a well-implemented information governance program should bring at least the following benefits to the business. Gain insights into data governance, streamline policy enforcement, automate compliance monitoring, and protect information from creation to destruction. Protect data in transit and at rest. Many people and organizations see GI and data governance as the same thing. While both are essential for companies to achieve their business goals, and despite some overlap between them, they are not identical. It is a function dedicated to managing data or information throughout its lifecycle, from collection to disposal. It consists of identifying, classifying, storing, securing, recovering, tracking and permanently retaining or destroying these documents.
In the banking sector, for example, some information often needs to be kept for 7 to 10 years. Life insurers must retain policy documents and information for up to 100 years. Business units can work with a records management service to determine how long to keep different categories of information before deletion. Some companies establish information governance committees, which include departments such as risk management, compliance, legal, IT, and various executives, to oversee the process. This ability to delete records in accordance with the company`s policies regarding legal and compliance obligations is commonly referred to as a safe harbor. As one of the integral disciplines of digital transformation, information governance strategies have the potential to drive innovation and enable exponential growth. However, as with any business transformation program, there are certain rules and standards that must be followed and pitfalls that must be avoided. Here are our top recommendations to help you improve information governance in your organization: If a party does not take reasonable steps to retain the information it was required to retain, the severity of sanctions can be significantly increased, even leading to the imposition of severe sanctions such as adverse findings, unfavorable jury instructions, and dismissal or judgment by default. GI is a requirement of responsibility and rights to enable the proper functioning of various aspects of information, including creation, evaluation, use, storage, deletion and archiving. To use data effectively, IG includes policies, objectives, processes and standards that help organizations achieve their objectives.
Some executives view information governance as a purely legal requirement. But it`s not just about developing a legally defensible program to handle sensitive information. GI is a rapidly evolving discipline that has become an essential business routine in today`s data age. There is now an ongoing need to reassess GI based on the advancement of enterprise technology. It`s not a strategy that is implemented once and runs its course – it`s more of a journey than a destination. The same goes for the overall discipline of GI, digital transformation.