How can you manage data quality and security in your ERP system?

1 Define your data standards

Before you implement or update your ERP system, you need to define your data standards and policies. These are the rules and guidelines that specify how you collect, store, validate, and use your data. For example, you need to decide on the data formats, naming conventions, units of measure, and data sources that you will use. You also need to document your data standards and policies and communicate them to your stakeholders and users. This way, you can avoid data errors, duplication, and inconsistency.

2 Implement data governance

Data governance is the process of managing your data assets and ensuring that they align with your business goals and compliance requirements. Data governance involves defining the roles and responsibilities of your data owners, stewards, and users, as well as establishing the processes and procedures for data quality, security, and access. Data governance can help you monitor and control your data lifecycle, from creation to deletion, and ensure that your data is reliable, relevant, and secure.

3 Use data quality tools

Data quality tools are software applications that help you check, clean, and improve your data. They can help you identify and correct data errors, such as missing, incorrect, or outdated values. They can also help you standardize, enrich, and integrate your data from different sources and systems. Data quality tools can help you enhance your data accuracy, completeness, and consistency, and reduce the risks of data-related issues and costs.

4 Encrypt and backup your data

Data security is crucial for protecting your data from unauthorized access, modification, or loss. Data security involves encrypting your data, both in transit and at rest, using strong encryption algorithms and keys. Encryption can help you prevent data breaches and comply with data protection regulations. Data security also involves backing up your data regularly and storing it in a safe location. Backup can help you recover your data in case of system failures, disasters, or cyberattacks.

5 Train and educate your users

Your users are the ones who interact with your data on a daily basis. They can also be the ones who introduce or detect data errors or security threats. Therefore, you need to train and educate your users on how to use your ERP system and follow your data standards and policies. You need to provide them with clear instructions, guidelines, and feedback on how to enter, update, and access your data. You also need to raise their awareness of the importance of data quality and security and the best practices to maintain them.

6 Audit and review your data

Finally, you need to audit and review your data periodically and continuously. You need to measure and evaluate your data quality and security against your predefined criteria and metrics. You need to identify and address any data issues or gaps that may arise over time. You also need to review and update your data standards, policies, and governance as your business needs and environment change. Auditing and reviewing your data can help you ensure that your data is fit for purpose and secure.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?