Are you planning on moving your workloads from an on-premise data centre to the cloud? There's one thing that can sometimes get overlooked in the process – data governance.

If you want a definition of data governance, you could do worse than ask the data-governors-in-chief at Google HQ.

They define it as "everything you do to ensure data is secure, private, accurate, available and usable. It includes the actions people must take, the processes they must follow and the technology that supports them throughout the data life cycle."

And they should know. They handle oceans of data – no one knows exactly how much, but one estimate puts it at around 200 petabytes a day through Google search alone. That's the daily equivalent of 200,000 sizeable hard drives.

Your company won't be handling that much data – but the figures can still be daunting.

You'll notice that "secure" is only a part of Google's definition. There's a tendency to conflate data governance and cyber security, but there's a difference.

If your company is a house, then security is the locks on the doors and windows. It's about keeping out intruders. Data governance, on the other hand, is about who can access what.

Maybe there's an agreement that no one goes into your teenage son's room without knocking. Maybe those beers are just for Mum. There are rules and guidance in place to monitor who can go where.

This is one of the roles that data governance plays. In an age where data is more and more democratised – meaning members of your team can access it without phoning IT first – it's a set of rules and policies to establish access permissions.

Its other key role is to codify your data's life cycle. Where is it stored? Who deals with duplicates and redundancies? Who can share it? Who can put it in the trash?

Why does it matter?

Data is one of your business's biggest assets. It can lead to more strategic decision-making. It can provide valuable insights into what customers want. It can help you to stay on top of inventories and supply chains.

For that reason alone, it's essential to keep it well-governed. But there's another reason: the spectre of data breaches.

Data loss can give your reputation a knock. It can cause downtime. It can lead to a sizeable fine. If you don't know who has access to what data within your company, you're creating a security risk.

That's why it's so important to have a data governance policy that's cloud-specific – one that covers the data life-cycle, from gathering to storing, from processing to deleting. One that covers access permissions and compliance.

This is especially important now that cloud adoption is a question of "when", not "if". Everybody's making the shift, so the temptation can be to rush in where IT fears to tread.

A rushed job creates all sorts of issues – from cloud sprawl, where data takes on a life of its own, to cloud shock, where you look at the bill and burst into tears.

Good data governance helps prevent these issues and smooth your transition to the cloud.

What is your provider's role?

You may be wondering where your cloud provider (or providers) fits into all this. Surely it's the one "governing" your data, given that the data is on its servers?

Well, yes and no. Using a public cloud provider like AWS or Azure means you're sharing responsibility.

It's the provider's job to ensure that the infrastructure is well-maintained, secure and compliant. It also provides you with tools for data analysis, metadata and access permissions.

What it doesn't do is enforce data policy at the company level. Questions of access are yours and yours alone.

In other words, the provider gives you tools and you put them to work. Without a data governance policy, you're in danger of a botched job.

This might sound overwhelming – but you can see it as an opportunity to take better care of your data and to show your customers and partners that you're good data stewards.

At a time when many people have misgivings about how big business handles data, this good public stewardship is essential for your public relations. Letting a data breach happen through poor internal policy is a bad look whether you're a high street fixture or the local garden centre.

What are the other benefits of good data governance?

1. Better decision-making

Want to know which of your goods and services are selling best? Want to know who's coming back for more and when there are seasonal spikes? You don't need the cloud to answer these questions – but it makes it so much easier.

If you want data-rich insights into your business, then getting your data in order is essential.

2. Cost savings

We've written elsewhere about cloud sprawl – something that afflicts businesses of all stripes.

Are you overseeing a company that's paying for obsolete user accounts, or filling up your cloud storage with duplicate or otherwise redundant files? Has your multi-cloud environment turned into a many-headed beast? Have you lost count of the heads?

Cloud sprawl costs you. Successful data governance, by contrast, helps you cut back on cloud subscription costs and get the most bang for your buck.

3. Compliance

Compliance isn't just about following the rules. It's also about inspiring trust in existing and potential customers and partners.

4. Data is democratised

Making data accessible to non-specialists on your team is good for collaboration. It creates an environment where people are on the same page as far as possible.

5. Security

Losing track of access permissions means you don't know who's doing what with your data. This creates security risks within your company.

In a landscape where there are so many external threat agents – from phishing to ransomware – it's crucial that you keep your internal affairs as shipshape as you can.

Do you need assistance with a cloud migration policy? At Ascend, we've managed over 400 successful migrations and counting. Get in touch today to learn how we can help you.