Data leaders already understand that governance plays a critical role in ensuring regulatory compliance, operationalizing business efficiency, and cultivating strategic alignment. But they also know that successful data governance implementation relies on buy-in from other stakeholders at every level of an enterprise, which in turn relies on the ability to identify and articulate the value it brings to a business. Every organization, however, benefits from data governance in slightly different ways and must chart its own path to success.
The following four success stories from Hakkoda customers exemplify some of the tangible returns on investment that can be achieved through dedicated data governance efforts. Each case exemplifies how businesses across various industries have leveraged data governance to address specific challenges, optimize processes, and drive better business outcomes.
What Success Looks Like: A Fortune 500 Foodservice Provider
Consider the case of a leader in the supply chain industry with $24 billion in revenue, faced with the challenge of modernizing its data processes to reduce attrition among its data science teams. The company’s long-standing practices had become barriers to innovation, necessitating a shift towards improved data governance.
Hakkoda partnered with enterprise leadership to revitalize their data governance framework by implementing a robust metric certification process in Alation. This approach empowered the company to take ownership of its metrics and data, fostering a culture of accountability and precision. The modernization efforts not only streamlined data processes but also helped retain valuable talent within their data science teams, keeping the company agile and competitive.
What Success Looks Like: A Global Sustainability Company
Consider also the case of a global sustainability leader that had been leveraging nearly a century’s worth of data to provide services, technology, and systems to clientele across several industries, but which lacked a formal data governance strategy to render that data accessible and reliable at scale.
Hakkoda collaborated with this client’s internal teams to create a comprehensive data governance roadmap, which included the establishment of data stewardship roles and the deployment of an enterprise data catalog—once more using Alation. These initiatives allowed the client to enhance data accessibility and reliability, ensuring that their vast data resources could be efficiently utilized to support their global operations. The structured governance framework enabled the customer to better manage and analyze their data, fostering more informed decision-making processes.
What Success Looks Like: A Regional Banking Giant
A large regional bank, managing $29 billion in assets, aimed to enhance its data management with a modern architecture. Hakkoda’s expertise enabled the implementation of a Data Vault architecture on the Snowflake AI Data Cloud. This transformation ensured high-quality data and established robust stewardship protocols.
By developing a business-centric Party Model Data Domain, the bank achieved a clear Authoritative Source for party data, bolstering data accuracy and ownership. These enhancements made the enterprise more data-driven, improving decision-making and strategic planning capabilities. The modernized data framework allowed the bank to leverage current and future platform capabilities more effectively, supporting long-term business goals.
What Success Looks Like: A Fortune 500 Power and Electrical Company
Another large local business—this time a major power and electrical provider generating $14 billion in annual revenue—was struggling to overcome challenges in enhancing data visibility and accessibility across its vast operations. The company’s goal was to support reliable energy solutions and expand zero-carbon initiatives, which required a solid data governance foundation.
Hakkoda collaborated with the client’s data leadership to curate and optimize their data catalog. This effort led to a significant improvement in assigning data owners and stewards, a critical step in data governance. By creating clear roles and responsibilities, the customer empowered business leaders to curate valuable Data Products. This initiative increased the adoption and utility of the data catalog, enabling teams to find and understand data assets more efficiently. Enhanced data governance practices not only improved data accessibility but also drove strategic decision-making, allowing the customer to better support its operational and environmental goals. The structured approach facilitated a deeper understanding of data, fostering an environment where data-driven insights could thrive.
What Does Data Governance Success Look Like For Your Business?
As the customer experiences above illustrate, data governance is not a one-size-fits-all solution to be slotted in and powered on. Rather, every implementation requires a tailored approach that aligns with the unique needs and goals of a given organization. Whether that looks like improving data accessibility, ensuring regulatory compliance, optimizing business processes, or empowering data-driven decision-making, each company’s path to data governance success is distinct and deeply connected to their broader business objectives.
However, navigating the complexities of data governance can be daunting, especially for organizations that lack the internal expertise or resources to implement an effective strategy. This is where working with a trusted data partner like Hakkoda makes a difference. With deep, industry-first expertise and a proven track record of helping businesses address their governance needs, Hakkoda understands the importance of bridging the gap between data and business outcomes.
Ready to chart your own course to data governance success? Talk to one of our experts today.
