Data Governance
The overall management of data availability, usability, integrity, and security in an enterprise, ensuring that data is handled properly throughout its lifecycle.
Definition
A framework of policies, roles, processes, and tools that ensures data is cataloged, quality-checked, access-controlled, and compliant with regulations. It defines data ownership, stewardship responsibilities, metadata standards, classification schemes, and audit trails—enabling trusted data for analytics, AI, and decision-making across the organization.
Real-World Example
A pharmaceutical company implements a data-governance council that sets standards for clinical-trial data: all datasets must be cataloged in a central registry, pass automated quality checks (e.g., missing-value thresholds), and be encrypted at rest, ensuring trustworthy data for drug-safety models and regulatory submissions.
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