Matthew Cawsey, Director of Product Marketing and Solutions Strategy at Stibo Systems, speaks with Lauren Maffeo, CDO Magazine Editorial Board Member and Author, in a video interview about gaining executive buy-in, how data governance adapts to the evolving cloud data environment and architecture, the challenges of maintaining data in the cloud, and data quality in the context of master data management.

Stibo Systems offers a comprehensive platform to govern different data domains and drive insights, agility, and transformation.

Gaining executive buy-in requires changing the mindset around data governance and demonstrating the business value of master data governance, says Cawsey. He adds that the CEO does not care about individual data policies, but whether the competitors get the products launched faster.

Therefore, it is critical to tie data governance to business value, says Cawsey. It could be in terms of operational efficiency, reducing rework or compliance risk, or showing that the BI analytics and decision-making are more accurate, he elaborates.

Cawsey further states that it is essential to get alignment between governance and strategic objectives to develop a compelling business case. He stresses the need to establish the ROI of data governance, which can be done with a business case.

Potentially, organizations lack the skill to do this or get help from MDM partners, asserts Cawsey. He says that Stibo not only implements the MDM technology but also has business advisory services and practices to go along with that.

Therefore, Cawsey advises organizations to get an MDM partner because, in addition to their sound business advisory practices, their reputation depends on the organization’s success. For this reason, the MDM partners will assist in building the business case needed to get executive buy-in.

When asked how master data governance adapts to the evolving data environment and architecture in the cloud, Cawsey states that the cloud is the basic standard now. Until a decade ago, no organization stored customer data in the cloud, and it was stored in secure data centers.

On the contrary, organizations now put their CRM in the cloud, says Cawsey. He adds that it will get increasingly challenging for people working on-premise, as they will miss out on the opportunities and not be updated.

Building on this, Cawsey states that keeping operations up-to-date and accurate is crucial. Especially with so much external data, the ability to seamlessly connect to third-party data sources is critical, and it is convenient with an open organizational platform.

Furthermore, the need for the cloud to be robust, secure, and scalable is one of the concerns about it, says Cawsey. However, the largest organizations worldwide, including Stibo Systems, host the platform on the cloud. He reiterates that the company uses the Microsoft Azure platform and SLAs for scaling and handling large volumes of data.

Summing up, Cawsey states that the challenge of adapting to the cloud is not a technical issue or having MDM, or master data governance, in the cloud. Rather, it is about getting the data governance policies and processes in place.

Stating the unique challenges of maintaining data in the cloud, Cawsey hints at data sovereignty. While there are considerations in terms of sovereignty, it needs to be included in data governance policies, he notes.

Furthermore, while storing data in the cloud, one must know where it is being stored, and the people responsible for data in an organization should ask the questions.

Commenting on the aspect of data quality in the context of master data management, Cawsey affirms that it boils down to the key facets of data quality. It is imperative to know where the data is, where it comes from, whether it is understandable, and whether there is a common consensus on its meaning and purpose.

Thereafter, Cawsey states that there are other compliance reasons as well that require data quality rules, for instance, KYC regulations in financial services. Establishing quality standards and processes enhances regulatory compliance.

Recently, sustainability has become a pivotal topic at Stibo Systems, says Cawsey. He affirms that the company has been advocating that managing and reporting sustainability data involves collecting product information, ingredients, packaging, waste disposal, CO2 footprint, and ethical supply chains.

Now, organizations need to collect, manage, govern, clean, and share the additional data attributes, which will necessitate robust MDM discipline and governance to ensure data quality. Also, to gain investor confidence and manage reputational risk, organizations must ensure that the items sold and claims made are backed by unequivocal, trusted, and accurate data.

In conclusion, Cawsey shares that organizations need to submit their sustainability evidence to regulators, discerning consumers, investors, and potential trading partners. These credentials might be based on the organization's internal standards or compliance with external regulations like the UN (Sustainable Development Goals) SDG or Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB).

CDO Magazine appreciates Matthew Cawsey for sharing his insights with our global community.

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