Basics of Information Governance
Information governance as a basic principle of the information society
Efficient and consistent information governance, the mastery of information, is a basic requirement for everyone in an increasingly complex global economy. In many industries, information governance has already been given the importance it deserves – for example, in banks, insurance companies, and pharmaceutical and chemical companies. Unfortunately, medium-sized businesses still frequently ignore this important topic, which provides a framework for records management, risk management, archiving, compliance and organized information management (cf. the thematic model of information governance – >> IG house in the graphic below). In this context, solutions are available today at favorable conditions and offer the necessary technical tools for the implementation of information governance.
The information management disciplines Information management, risk management and IT governance form the cornerstones of this house. In principle, based on this picture, one can also say that “information governance” is not a discipline in itself, but an activity or initiative that crosses all the necessary disciplines with the corresponding principles and standards.
KRM Definition of Information Governance:
“Information governance describes the procedures, organization, and technologies needed to actively manage information (data) throughout its lifecycle (use, capture, classify, store, delete) in accordance with the organization’s strategic direction and external and internal regulations.” (chap. 2.4.2 Information Governance Guide, p.66)
Our video explains the principle of information governance in a simple way! -> Go to video
The biggest challenges in implementing information governance are cultural and political: there are only a few use cases and longer-term experience on this topic. Harry Pugh sums it up:
“The biggest organizational challenge on the road to unified information governance is probably that no department can achieve the intended goals and benefits on its own.”
(Harry Pugh, Destroying Data: Why it’s so difficult, in: Wirtschaftsinformatik & Management, No. 4, 2012).
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