Data Governance at a Breakpoint, in Need of Sovereign Cloud: IBM

Given the digital revolution experienced in recent years, mainly because of the pandemic, the words data and trust are being increasingly heard. Organizations need access to a trusted, global data ecosystem for the economy to thrive, but increasingly complex issues are surrounding data access and ownership. Cyberattacks and other problems are also on the rise, leading to constant changes in the regulatory framework. To face these problems, the sector needs clear and unified policies concerning data.

Data governance promotes the availability, quality and security of an organization's data through various policies and standards, according to IBM. In general, the goal of data governance is to maintain high-quality data that is secure and easily accessible to extract more detailed business information. Part of the problem is that not everyone talks about the same thing when talking about data governance, a particularly important problem for companies because data is subject to the laws and governance structures within the country in which it is collected. For this same reason, data governance is also of concern nationally.

"When countries talk about digital governance, they often mean the ability to have control over their digital destiny. This includes the data, hardware and software they create, ensuring that, as a sovereign nation, they are not reliant on foreign technology companies to safeguard their data and enable their digital economies," said IBM.

This is where the Sovereign Cloud concept becomes relevant. This increasingly popular tool aims to help organizations comply with a given jurisdiction's legal, regulatory and operational requirements. This is particularly important considering that only 3 percent of companies worldwide use a single type of cloud. "By first understanding the governance foundation, we can pave the way to a better understanding of the changing and interconnected regulatory forces, business priorities, and technology capabilities that are shaping cloud consumption around the world,” reads IBM’s report.

The challenge also involves the future of talent. Data governance might make it harder to access the best international talent because some countries may require a company's cloud to be operated and run locally, potentially inhibiting innovation. "While we don't know what the future holds, it will be critical that there are enough highly skilled workers to meet the challenge because, by 2022 alone, the World Economic Forum estimates that 133 million jobs will emerge, the result of a new division of labor between people, computers and algorithms," says Howard Boville, Global Senior Vice President of IBM Cloud 

The concept of data governance will continue to evolve, so organizations will have to adapt. But they do not need to solve the entire problem at once to get to where they need to be. By breaking governance into more manageable layers, companies can decide how and where to focus, but it will require companies to be clear about how ready they are in this area.