Engaging Line-of-Business Data Owners in Data Management

No one knows the value, relevance, or sensitivity of the information in a file as much as someone who works with that file. A manager in an HR Department for example, knows much more about a spreadsheet of employees than an IT Department worker. By utilizing the knowledge and input of these “data owners,” IT can then use Galileo to determine what files are being stored and then how to best manage and secure those files through Senergy policies.

Who Knows the Data Best?

It’s unarguable that individuals that work with a set of data are better qualified than network administrators to make decisions pertaining to the value of the data, who should be able to access it, whether it should be retained or deleted, whether it should be stored in a secure location or an open share, and many others. An organization that is optimally managing its data must utilize department experts in managing its data.

It Takes Teamwork

Security, Compliance, and IT officers need to work together to provide a framework where Line-of-Business Data Owners – i.e. subject matter experts who are familiar with the department data – are empowered to: 1) Provide input to IT pertaining to data access and retention and 2) Perform department-specific data management tasks.

The Right Tools for the Job

IT personnel and Line-of-Business Data Owners need tools that will provide detailed information on what data is being stored and who has access to it. They then need tools to take remedial action such as moving, deleting, archiving, and protecting data. Finally, to keep high-value targets protected from unauthorized access, they need tools to monitor these high-value targets and for the Line-of-Business Data Owner to be notified when access permissions change or an attempt is made to change them.