* All about ‘information stewardship’
IT executives tell us that the single biggest challenge they face lies in effectively managing information in the data center – a discipline we refer to as “information stewardship.”
Specifically, we’re talking about ensuring that data is:
* Accurate and as complete as possible
* Appropriately secured, with access granted only to appropriate parties
* Auditable and compliant with pertinent privacy and disclosure guidelines
* Stored on the most appropriate and effective storage mechanisms
* Reliably backed up and available in the event of a failure
Many companies – particularly those that have grown through mergers and acquisitions, or are in the throes of data center consolidation – don’t even know what data they have, whether it’s secure, or how it’s stored and backed up.
The cost of this lack of knowledge can be steep. When critical data that’s necessary to manage an organization’s day-to-day operations is missing, inaccurate or corrupt, revenue and customers can be at risk. Even worse, it’s a bad time to be guessing about such critical issues; regulations like HIPAA, Gramm-Leach-Bliley and Sarbanes-Oxley mandate information accuracy and privacy, with stiff penalties for non-compliance.
Implementing effective information stewardship is challenging for a number of reasons. First, it draws upon a range of diverse technologies. To ensure data accuracy and completeness, there’s a raft of products and tools in the area of data quality management (DQM). Information protection requires network-, system-, and application-level security – requiring technology such as firewalls, VPNs, encryption, and increasingly identity management and intrusion protection. Compliance and auditing tools represent yet another category, as do storage-area networks, network-attached storage and information lifecycle management (ILM).
A second major challenge is organizational. In most companies, DQM is handled by database administrators and managers. Information security is the province of the chief security officer’s organization. Compliance and auditing tools may be purchased and deployed by either the compliance or internal auditing departments. And storage is typically purchased and deployed by multiple diverse groups, including those handling servers, mainframes and networks – and these groups may or may not even communicate.
What should enterprises do? First, recognize that information stewardship is an emerging discipline that draws on technologies and talent from across an organization. Start by putting in place a cross-organizational team chartered with creating and implementing an information stewardship strategic plan.
Second, realize that tools and technologies from one area may have applicability in others. Data firewalls, for example, may provide valuable auditing and compliance functions. Storage virtualization and ILM can help with disaster recovery and business continuity.
Finally, realize that operational effectiveness is a key component of effective information stewardship. Designing and implementing the right processes can make an enormous difference when it comes to managing data correctly.
