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Blog » 4 Ways to Reduce Risk by Improving Your Data Management

4 Ways to Reduce Risk by Improving Your Data Management

Last updated: 05 Mar, 2024 By | 6 Minutes Read

Data Management

Data is the new currency for today’s businesses, so managing it is more vital than ever. Losing data, or control of it, reflects badly on companies, especially when it comes to consumer data.

However, businesses that take the time to organize and securely store their data will reap the benefits. Data management can help businesses locate key insights or identify system vulnerabilities.

The downside of ignoring data management

Data management services improve a business’s ability to make the right decisions and, in turn, increase the likelihood of its success. It’s easier for a business to manage its data when the data is organized and stored in a common location. A system with accessible and up-to-date information helps businesses in the long run.

Improper data management can lead to false conclusions derived from incorrect data, data duplication, inadequate security, or inconsistencies due to lack of organization. These failures can also increase the risk of a data breach.

Businesses that don’t handle data carefully will pay for it in the long run, either through lost opportunities or malicious attacks.

Steps to improve data management

Businesses should consider implementing any of the following steps before they suffer a loss as a result of improper data management. By using these procedures or updating current policies, companies can properly manage their data.

1. Facilitate accountability

Businesses should appoint individuals within the company to oversee data management. Their jobs will include organizing, sorting, and updating data. They’ll also communicate with team members and educate them on best practices for collecting and storing data for the company.

Some businesses employ a chief data officer. This individual is separate from a typical IT department, and they control all business data. Chief data officers supervise master data management and quality.

Either of these routes can help businesses begin to regain control of their data by organizing it. This, in turn, helps businesses make better decisions.

2. Create a management plan

Build a data management system that includes a process for collecting, analyzing, and storing data. Meet with the team and review how business data is being processed. Ask and answer these questions: Is everyone in the business properly collecting and storing data? Which individuals have established a good process? In which areas of data processing are the business or its employees falling short?

Knowing how and why data is being improperly stored provides a chance to reorganize it. Reviewing accessibility controls and developing a new system can diminish the possibility of inaccessible or compromised data.

Consider the business’ current data storage system. Are there multiple storage systems in different locations? Is the system up-to-date for security purposes? When updating the business’ data management process, also consider updating its storage system or linking it to current systems.

Keep in mind the principles of coherence, visibility, and non-duplication of data. Have a coherent methodology for collecting and organizing data. Determine which individuals will control and grant access to data and look for opportunities to reduce data duplication.

3. Determine a data delivery plan

The key focus of data delivery is to get people the relevant information they need for their work. For example, if a team member wants to launch a campaign for an older product, they’d need data on its previous promotions. Consumer preferences and targeted regions are also key data points the team members would need.

This type of plan is useful for individuals who want to take business actions based on data-driven insights. Informed decision-making is easier for team members when they can properly analyze collected data. If some promotional details weren’t properly executed or a problem occurred in the delivery process, previously collected data will reflect that and help team members form new plans.

By enforcing a data delivery plan, companies can accurately track sources of information, which helps them manage and protect their data. Systems like cloud-based enterprise resource planning applications allow businesses to collect and analyze data in one place.

4. Create consistent policies

A company’s data rules and regulations are useful in its data management. Proper handling and usage of data are, after all, critical for business success. Determining which employees merit the privilege of accessing that data is another aspect to consider.

When creating data policies, remember to consider all the ways your business can store and format data. Today’s businesses can access data from on-premises or cloud-based storage environments. Acknowledge these formats in your data rules and regulations.

Clarify access rights, distribution responsibilities, and (when necessary) deletion rules. Failing to take charge of ownership and handling of data leaves companies at risk of giving too many people access to critical data and causing a breach.

Two smaller tactics to think about when creating data policies are password use and backup rules. Implement password-update rules for access to secured data. Changing a password depends on numerous factors, but once a year could be helpful for accounts accessed every day.

Backing up data regularly prevents its loss if a system crashes. Updating your data storage software and systems periodically will also help prevent problems.

Data management is an ongoing process for companies. A breakdown in proper data maintenance can create short- and long-term issues. However, proper data management can help prevent data failures before they happen.

Related: Guidelines to Monitor Data Quality Management with the Right Metrics

Being proactive and executing the steps mentioned here can help you develop better data management practices. In the long run, proper data management will lead to better opportunities for businesses. In case, even after following the steps, you are getting poor-quality data, you may think about outsourcing data management to Cogneesol. We are experts who can efficiently manage data, maintain its quality and accuracy, and keep it secure. To learn more about our data management services, call us at +1 646-688-2821 or send an email to [email protected].

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