Good data governance in an ever-evolving regulatory compliance world.

Data is all around us. It drives decision making in almost everything we do. From shopping purchases to what we watch to how businesses innovate and improve. You could say it’s pretty important. But are we managing it correctly? Becoming “data-driven” is a term that people often use, but the fact is many businesses don’t appear to understand what the term actually means, and even fewer are successfully implementing data-driven strategies. To become data-driven, businesses need to first improve how they process, protect and store their data. The next phase is to learn how to manage it successfully. Or, more importantly, how to get it to work for them.

At Aiimi it’s our primary goal to constantly improve how we all interact with data, implement it and benefit from it. But to achieve this we need be aware of what types of data are of most importance to our clients. With this in mind, we decided to take an in-depth exploration into the current UK business landscape to discover what’s changed over the last tumultuous 12 months. We then collated our findings into an in-depth eGuide which is now available for you to download...

Read more >> Unlocking intelligent insights in an increasingly regulated world.

A new world of work on the horizon

What we discovered was that as businesses emerge from a year of disruption, they’re about to enter a period of further change that demands innovative solutions. The way we work has altered forever. Hybrid remote working practices combined with increased regulatory initiatives, advancements in cybercrime and a skills shortage could create a perfect storm for unprepared organisations.

Regulatory compliance is an area that’s experiencing rapid change and is also particularly data sensitive. Mismanagement can lead to mistakes, which can result in hefty fines. This is why many companies still rely on external legal counsel to interpret their regulatory compliance requirements. The problem with this approach is that it’s unwieldy and expensive, but those that rely on internal compliance teams encounter challenges of their own.

For example, despite the high-profile nature of GDPR in recent years, many organisations are still allowing much of their data to remain “dark”. It’s not difficult to see why this could pose a problem for staff attempting to ensure that company data meets increasingly stringent regulatory requirements.

Remote possibilities

Alongside this, a remote workforce has meant that data is dispersed across locations, which has made maintaining visibility and control increasingly difficult. If data isn’t effectively classified and tagged, it’s more likely to go “dark” and pose a serious security risk to businesses and their customers.

Safeguarding the sheer amount of data that many organisations now contain is simply beyond human capability alone. If businesses want to practice good data governance strategy and become truly data driven, they are going to need to implement data management tools.

Technology riding shotgun

These tools are not designed to replace human beings — there remain too many things they cannot do — but work in conjunction with them. Machine learning and AI powered solutions are perfectly placed to manage important but mundane and repetitive tasks. This will allow people to focus on the more creative and innovation-focused aspects of their jobs. By working in conjunction with technology we can not only improve business outcomes, but also improve our day-to-day working lives.

Our eGuide pays particular attention to these developments, highlights imminent regulatory changes and offers potential solutions for you to manage them. If you’re part of a regulatory compliance team or are simply interested in how developments in this area could affect your business, we think it’s a must read.