Data governance is changing

Data governance is changing.

With the move towards data mesh we’re seeing a move away from centralised governance teams defining policies and assigning roles like “data steward” (which no one wanted to be!) to people in the organisation and instead delegating those responsibilities to those teams and domains who produce the data and have the most context on the data.

We’re also seeing many of the more tedious data governance tasks be automated through improved data platforms built around data contracts or similar, which is what enables that delegation of responsibility.

Of course, it’s going to take a while for this change to happen in many organisations. But it’s certainly the direction of travel, and one many data governance experts are embracing.

One of the best writers on this topic from a data governance perspective is Nicola Askham, so be sure to check out her newsletter biweekly newsletter if you’re interested in learning more on how data governance is changing. (I have no affiliation with Nicola beyond being a subscriber.)