Ahh, Paris: A Recap of Big Data Paris & Some Advice

Ahh, Paris: A Recap of Big Data Paris & Some Advice

This week I had the pleasure of traveling to Paris to attend – and present at – Big Data Paris. And the event was not only big in name, it was big in size, with thousands of people attending. And while the theme of the event was “Master the Data Galaxy,” I found that many delegates were very interested in a few other, more discrete, topics as well.

Complying with the GDPR

First, top of mind for many attendees is the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). With just over a year until it goes into effect, many organizations are now realizing the full impact it will have on their organization, and the massive implications (financial and reputational) if they fail to comply. In my discussions with the attendees, many realize that data governance is a key strategy to complying with the first principle of the GDPR. This is good news for Collibra, as our enterprise-wide data governance platform is the perfect solution for organizations looking to implement data governance for GDPR compliance. One of my colleagues, Tudor Borlea, recently looked at the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office document “12 steps to take now to prepare for GDPR,” and mapped out how a true data governance platform can help. So if you’re struggling with how to implement data governance to support GDPR compliance, definitely check out his post and for deep study, this Collibra University course.

Making Sense out of Big Data

The other topic that came up a fair bit was the need to connect big data so their organization could understand who is using it and why. To me, this speaks directly to data lineage: where did the data come from, where does it reside, and who has access to it – and for what purpose. Understanding lineage in the context of big data can be a challenge, but again, data governance is the best way to address it. In fact, I see data governance as the missing link between big data and its value. And I’ll share the here the 5 steps that I offered to the delegates at the event this week as they strive to realize big data value through data governance:

  1. Make it flexible and automated with technology
  2. Put clear policies in place
  3. Define data standards to drive value
  4. Leverage analytics models
  5. Form a dedicated data governance team

To wrap things up, it’s clear that we have a long way to go in order to master the data galaxy. But through events like Big Data Paris – and the growing awareness of data governance as a solution – I’m sure we’ll get there one data citizen at a time. And if you’re looking for another great data governance event to attend, please join me at the upcoming Data Citizens ’17 conference on May 2-3.

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