In all aspects of our lives we are influenced by people we consider to be experts. My experiences with data governance has been no different. I continue to gain knowledge from others who work in this space. I thought that you might also be interested to glean some insight from the data governance gurus who have inspired me over the years and I am very excited to start this series of blogs with an interview with Gwen Thomas.

Data today is getting bigger, more widely available and changing more quickly than ever before. We are working in a data filled world where another new data initiative seems always just around the next corner!

According to the recent Moody's Analytics survey titled "Solvency II: A field of missed opportunities?" the European insurance industry is still struggling to meet the requirements of the Solvency II regulation. The survey highlighted three challenging areas, one of which was data quality management.

The very nature of my job means that I get to write a lot of formal documents. These are I have to admit not the most scintillating read, in fact a Head of Compliance once told me that Data Governance documents are always so dry and boring (talk about people in glass houses and stones!) To be fair he did deliver this statement with a wry smile and he made a very valid point...

I am very excited to introduce my first collaborative blog. I met Lisa Allen at the recent MDM and Data Governance conference in London. Lisa is the National Data Integrity Manager for the Environment Agency in the UK where she has successfully introduced data governance into the organisation. 

Have you ever found yourself trying to implement a data governance programme on its second or maybe even third attempt? Data governance initiatives are not the easiest thing to implement even when you're starting to design and implement the whole framework from scratch, let alone after one or more failed attempts.

There is a very old proverb which says that "the proof of the pudding is in the eating" and a recent experience really brought that home to me. Last year I wrote a blog explaining how pictures are very valuable communication tools. I truly believe that, but a lot of people would want to see the evidence of that, rather than just take my word for it. So I wanted to share an example which provides just that.

Just as knowing the direction of the wind is important if you are a pilot, gauging the sentiment of your organisation towards your Data Governance Programme while you are implementing it is vital.