Episode 36: Data governance tools
- Embedded IT
- Apr 28, 2025
- 2 min read
Updated: Jan 16
Data governance might not be the flashiest topic, but it plays a critical role in protecting data, maintaining quality, and managing organisational risk. From a technology procurement perspective, it is one of the most important areas to get right. Good governance ensures that data is accurate, secure, and compliant with internal policies and external regulations.
This guide breaks down the three core areas of data governance tools: data quality management, data security, and compliance.
This builds on our explanation of what data is and how it’s used across organisations.
Data quality management tools
Maintaining good quality data is difficult when large numbers of people access it, edit it, and feed information into shared systems. With multiple internal and external sources, it only takes one inaccurate entry to affect everything.
Data quality management tools help organisations set and enforce rules so data remains useful and reliable. While software plays a part, the real value comes from defining what “good quality data” actually means and understanding what is acceptable. No organisation has perfect data, but having agreed standards and tolerances is essential.
Common tools in this area include Informatica Data Quality, Talend’s data quality products, and IBM InfoSphere. These tools help organisations monitor, clean, and maintain data to the standards stakeholders expect. The procurement challenge is ensuring that those standards are clearly defined before choosing any product.
Data security tools
Data security is a large and complex topic in its own right. The purpose of these tools is to ensure data is protected, stored appropriately, and accessed only by the right people.
Well-known security brands offer data protection capabilities, including Symantec (now part of Broadcom), IBM, and McAfee. Most security vendors provide tools to prevent data leakage, control access, and protect against misuse. These solutions sit within the wider cybersecurity landscape, but they are deeply connected to data governance because their primary role is protecting the organisation’s information.
From a procurement perspective, strong data security is essential for reducing commercial risk and avoiding costly breaches.
Compliance and policy management tools
Once data policies are defined, organisations need tools to make sure they are being followed. Compliance tools check that data is stored and shared appropriately, flag issues, and help prevent breaches of legal and regulatory requirements such as GDPR.
Vendors like AvePoint and Varonis offer tools designed to enforce data policies, monitor how information is handled, and highlight risky behaviour, such as storing personally identifiable information where it should not be.
While governance may not be an exciting topic, it is essential. Clear policies combined with the right tools allow organisations to protect themselves and reduce liability across the procurement process.
For organisations looking to strengthen their approach to data governance and reduce risk in technology procurement, get in touch.
