(US and Canada) Jenna Zhou, Dell Technologies Chief Information Architect and Director of Information Architecture, speaks with Angelo Mazzocco, AVAAP Vice President of Advisory Services, about the various facets of enterprise information governance and vendor evaluation.

In her role, Zhou deals with all aspects of data. She says that information governance is a very important aspect. She adds that the direct benefit of data sometimes is very difficult to quantify. Many large organizations struggle to get enterprise data governance off the ground despite knowing its strategic importance, Zhou says.

Zhou reveals that Dell launched its enterprise information governance and strategic transformative programs to be able to deliver immediate business value and build out information governance capabilities along the way.

Speaking of tangible results, Zhou highlights cost savings and also cost avoidance, especially with regulations. She explains that privacy regulations come with potential fines, and that implementing the right level of governance and control can avoid the cost. She also mentions that there is another side to this – understanding customer insights and then creating new business models with functional data insights.

Elaborating further on the enterprise information governance capability model, Zhou states that the methodology delivers capabilities and value together through four steps:

1. Envisioning what the future steps can look like.

2. Socializing the value of enterprise data governance.

3. Laying the foundation and getting the capability model and the roadmap in place.

4. Driving the adoption of the strategic programs.

When asked about the enterprise information governance roadmap, Zhou says that it is more of a high-level plan of getting to the targeted future state that depends on the context. She adds that enterprise data governance actually touches all aspects of data management, like the master data program or even privacy regulation.

Sharing her views on vendor evaluation for enterprise information governance, Zhou says that it is a multidimensional assessment. As implementing enterprise data governance programs require changes in people, process, and technology, the technology provides a foundation to bring cross-functional teams together to collaborate, she explains. Zhou stresses the importance of selecting vendors that fit the company’s maturity level, goals, and budget.