OREANDA-NEWS. November 23, 2015. Your data is a valuable asset that your business relies on. With all the time you’ve spent gathering and building a centralized source of customer information, you want to make sure that your data is helping you make smarter, quicker business decisions, not slowing you down with inaccuracies and unreliable information that you have to work around.

It’s estimated that bad data is costing US businesses \\$700 billion a year. Are you confident you’re not one of the companies losing revenue? In our new e-book, Introduction to Data Governance and Stewardship, we show you how to put together and implement a framework for managing your data. With a solid plan in place, you can preserve the integrity and consistency of your data, while lowering costs, reducing risks, and staying compliant with regulations. Here’s a little of what you’ll learn about in the e-book:

Assess the state of your data.

Before you can develop a governance and stewardship plan for your data, you need to really understand what kind of condition your data is in. It will clarify not only where you need to focus your efforts, but also help you understand how you use your data and where your data management process needs to improve.

Develop your governance plan.

Now that you know where everything stands, it’s time to develop a plan that will work for your specific business. Developing definitions and standards for quality is a good place to start. Also remember to include plans for roles & ownership, security, and quality control in your plan.

Implement your plan.

Creating your data governance plan is just the beginning. Remember, a system is only as strong as those run and maintain it. Data stewards must carry out your plan by applying these new policies and enforcing best practices. Their challenge is to convey the importance of managing data across the entire organization.

Maintaining good data means investing time and resources in governance and stewardship. However, it’s one of the best investments your company can make as it sets you up for incremental success. With well-managed data you keep your revenue engine—sales and marketing—running smoothly, you can develop intelligent and accurate strategy, and increase customer satisfaction.