You're struggling to maintain data governance in a virtual environment. How can you ensure success?

1 Assess your current state

The first step is to assess your current data governance maturity, gaps, and needs in a virtual environment. You can use a framework such as the Data Governance Maturity Model (DGMM) to evaluate your data governance capabilities across six dimensions: vision and strategy, organization and culture, data quality, data security, data architecture, and data value. Based on your assessment, you can identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and prioritize your data governance goals and initiatives.

2 Establish a virtual data governance team

The second step is to establish a virtual data governance team that can collaborate effectively across different locations and time zones. You need to define the roles and responsibilities of the team members, such as data owners, stewards, custodians, analysts, and users. You also need to establish clear communication channels, tools, and protocols for the team to share information, coordinate tasks, and resolve issues. You can use platforms such as Slack, Teams, Zoom, or Google Workspace to facilitate virtual communication and collaboration.

3 Implement data governance policies and standards

The third step is to implement data governance policies and standards that can guide the data management and usage in a virtual environment. You need to document and communicate the data governance policies and standards to all the data stakeholders, and ensure that they are aligned with the business objectives, regulatory requirements, and best practices. You also need to monitor and enforce the compliance of the data governance policies and standards, and provide feedback and training to the data stakeholders as needed.

4 Leverage data governance tools and technologies

The fourth step is to leverage data governance tools and technologies that can support the data governance activities in a virtual environment. You need to select and deploy the data governance tools and technologies that can help you with data discovery, cataloging, profiling, quality, lineage, security, and analytics. You also need to integrate the data governance tools and technologies with your existing data sources, systems, and platforms, and ensure that they are scalable, reliable, 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?