Information Governance: Driving Value and Profits

This is just one of the reasons cloud technology has become acceptable for many organizations. The cloud gives the company centralized control of information while allowing users to access that information from any computer or device. It enables the IT organization to respond quicker to business requirements.

Policies reflect business and jurisdictional requirements so that information is automatically managed and properly used. There is no longer a need to have policies spread across the organization. A single policy engine should support all of the organization's governance controls—retention, disposition, legal hold, data privacy and security.

As shown in figure 2 (See Page S5 Downloadable PDF), companies require a digital hub of all governance policies across jurisdictions and information stores:

• Desktops and shared drives;
• Enterprise content management systems;
• Databases and data warehouses;
• Email systems;
• Cloud-based applications;
• Social media platforms; and
• Physical warehouses.

Also, policies must be auditable, enforceable and measureable. It's better not to have a policy than to have a policy that does not get embraced and enforced in the business. Policies constantly change due to new business requirements, regulatory demands, rising costs, and high-profile litigation.

Companies must have a repeatable process and platform to help update, validate, deploy and enforce policies. Policy changes should be propagated without negatively impacting users and operations. The companies who do this best are more competitive and successful.

Outperform With Information Governance

Given all of these benefits, it is not surprising that many organizations are interested in implementing information governance. But where to begin? The place to start an information governance initiative is by establishing a steering committee with all the stakeholders—chief information officer, chief compliance officer, chief legal officer and even the chief financial officer. Companies sometimes forget to include representation from the business, a costly mistake down the road.

After a committee is formed, it's important to map information to revenue and operations. The steering committee outlines the scope, timeline, budget, and most important, the benefits the company is expecting to receive from information governance. By rolling out information governance from the top, companies are able to avoid the struggles between divisions that plague decentralized companies.

Information governance helps management enforce focus on the business mission while offering greater transparency to the board of directors, investors, customers and employees. Everyone is on the same page in terms of how information is governed.

Employees are equally rewarded by having information that is accurate, current and in a suitable format for their use. It allows them to be more efficient and to make authoritative decisions. Furthermore, removing duplicate and unnecessary content helps reduce the time needed to find the valid information that is required for making critical business decisions.

In addition to enriching employee productivity, governing all content consistently drives higher profits. Administration and operational costs are lowered due to multi-jurisdiction policy management and automatic enforcement. The entire process is modernized, improving efficiency and adaptability to changing conditions. Finally, retention management optimizes the cost-effectiveness of storage platforms and legal fees are reduced in case of litigation. These are just a few of the ways that information governance contributes to improvements in the bottom line.