Data governance is like clean water with Joe Wallace, Adobe

Over the years, we’ve seen technology grow and how companies use the power of data to drive decision-making. However, we may be gathering more data than we can handle. Some companies may observe inconsistencies among data reports, leading to arguments and a lot of time wasted. This is where data governance comes in.  

In this episode, Joseph Wallace, Senior Manager of Data Governance at Adobe, joins us to talk about the importance of data governance, like how it can deter arguments around inconsistent data and improves business processes. He shares how data governance works, and how Adobe has a vision to make trusted data discoverable. He also shares what he believes is the future of data governance and how we must look at data like how we consume water. 

Tune in to the episode to dive deeper into data governance. 

Here are three reasons why you should listen to this episode:

1. Understand how data governance is defined, and how it can be used to improve business processes. 
2. Learn why Adobe’s data governance is rooted in making trusted data discoverable, and how the company defines trust, data, and discoverable. 
3. Discover the water analogy of data governance and how data governance will continue to grow. 

Episode Highlights

[00:57] How Data Governance Started at Adobe

• Adobe implemented data governance around five years ago. This program started because the company started noticing inconsistencies among data reports. 
• The data governance program began by defining how metrics were created and calculated, and what they mean. 
• The initial point of their data governance program was to avoid arguments over conflicting data by creating an official source of truth.
• The more the program has grown, it has decreased storage costs and computing costs. It can also drive new insights and new revenue opportunities.  
• Joe began looking at how many people are looking for data and how long they are looking.  

Joe: We've spent 20, 25 years saying ‘data, data, data, gimme the data. I want to analyze the data. We're gonna drive with data. We're gonna do things with data.’ And now we're here with mountains of data and we have no clue what to do with it. We have no real knowledge of where it is and how to use it. What's the most efficient and effective way of using it? That's the real value proposition of data governance. It's protecting it. It's making it searchable. It's helping people use it in the right ways at the right times for the right purpose. 

[07:06] How To Define Data Governance 

• For Joe, data governance is about making trusted data discoverable. 
• For Adobe, trust means customers are using their products securely and know that if there’s an issue, it could be recovered. 
• Trust also involves operational data used for operational decisions that drive the company. 
• Joe explains that their data governance program is the hub of the wheel. Its spokes include privacy, corporate governance, and legal components.

[10:35] How Adobe Defines Discoverable Data 

• Data covers actual tables and columns, assets like IP, and both customer and Adobe content.  
• Joe prefers the term “digital asset governance,” since data can mean different things to different people. 
• In order to make data discoverable, Adobe uses a trust score and a prioritization model. The trust score looks at how people are using products, and how often. 
• Right now, the prioritization model is undergoing changes to prioritize customer data. 

[14:30] How Adobe’s Data Governance Team Functions

• Initially, Joe needed to convince people why data governance is important. Now, people are coming into the team on their own. 
• Over time, Joe has created different templates and playbooks built from previous cases. 
• He helps empower teams and people throughout the business to do their own data governance. 

Joe: “You can't govern it if you don't know it's there. As we build out that catalog and as people add more things, then we can actually truly begin to put the govern in governance.”

[17:41] The Water Analogy of Data Governance 

• In the full episode, Joe shares how data is like water. You don’t think about how or where it comes from, you just drink it. 
• Similarly, people need to be able to access data the same way.
• Data governance – the identification and classification of the – is first. Protection is second. Updating and auditing is third. 
• Data governance never stops since data, and its use, will always change.  
• Joe shares that governance is about validating that the data is compliant. 

Joe: “Data should be the same. It should be clean. You shouldn't have to worry about it. You shouldn't have to think about 25 different angles of questions or concerns that you have with it. You just consume it. And that is a really important component of what data governance can provide. It's clean water, clean data.” 

[21:57] What Joe is Working On 

• Next, Joe will work on tying all the dots together, including the service registry and the business process.  
• Not only can this ensure you can troubleshoot through components when there’s a technology problem, but this can also improve change management. 

[27:09] Joe’s Challenges Around Data Governance

• Joe shares that people typically don’t disagree with governance until you ask them to do something for it. 
• His main challenge with the data governance program was convincing people that it was important to do, especially to solve business problems.  

[29:30] The Future of Data Governance

• Joe shares that Adobe is a pioneer in data governance. He sees that its capability will expand further. 
• We also need a world data organization similar to how we have one for global health. 
• The problem now is that every country and state has different ways of defining things. 

About Joe 

Joseph, or Joe, Wallace is the senior manager of data governance at Adobe and has worked in the company for over 12 years. His specialties include financial analysis, corporate finance, auditing, leadership, and much more!  

Joe graduated from Indiana University Robert H. Mckinney School of Law, then worked for an NGO and became an intern at the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He believes all these experiences shape how he sees data governance.  

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