informationgovernance

Information governance is an organization-wide approach to managing information assets throughout their lifecycle to meet legal, regulatory, and business objectives. It integrates records management, data governance, privacy, security, risk management, and policy with strategy. A mature program defines policies, standards, and decision rights that guide how information is created, stored, used, shared, retained, and disposed of, ensuring that information supports accountability, compliance, and value generation.

Core components include policies and standards, data classification and metadata management, data quality, and lifecycle management (creation, storage, retention, disposal). It also covers access control, privacy protections, and information security, with regulatory compliance as a constant requirement across jurisdictions. Governance structures usually involve cross-functional bodies and roles such as information governance officers, data stewards, and data owners who authorize decisions and enforce policies. Enabling technologies include records management systems, data catalogs, eDiscovery tools, and secure collaboration platforms, supported by formal processes for approvals, auditing, and accountability.

Benefits include improved decision-making, reduced risk, and better readiness for audits and analytics. Challenges encompass scope definition, cultural change, data fragmentation, legacy systems, and evolving privacy and data protection laws. Organizations often measure maturity using established frameworks and standards, such as records management guidelines and DAMA-DMBOK, tailoring them to industry requirements.