Information and Data Governance Are Not the Same

As a legal operations professional, it’s important to understand the distinction between information governance and data governance. While they are often mistaken for each other, they serve different purposes. Information governance ensures that information is managed in a way that aligns with your organization’s business objectives, regulatory compliance, and risk management. On the other hand, data governance aims to create a structure for managing the organization’s data and minimizing data management risks. Although they are related, information governance and data governance vary in terms of their scope, detail, purpose, stakeholders, and approach. 

When it comes to managing information, there are two main approaches: information governance and data governance. Information governance includes all types of information assets, including unstructured data. Its purpose is to manage these assets effectively to support the organization’s business objectives. On the other hand, data governance focuses specifically on structured data and aims to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Those involved in information governance include legal, compliance, and risk management professionals, while data governance typically involves data management and IT professionals. To overcome challenges in managing data and information, ediscovery technology can be helpful.