The TL;DR on data governance ROI
- Data governance is often seen as a blocker – but when done correctly, it’s a catalyst for productivity, progress, and growth.
- Data governance initiatives often fail without executive buy-in. Gaining that buy-in requires speaking in business terms.
- Features don’t earn investments. Outcomes do. Focus on the impact governance can have on the bottom line.
- To get started with data governance, start small, quantify results, and scale strategically.
Now, let’s take a closer look.
Why data governance initiatives fail
You know the drill. Your company’s leadership team says data governance is a key priority. So, you’ve spent months mapping workflows, drafting policies, and rallying stakeholders — only to watch your data governance initiative collapse under the weight of endless meetings, conflicting priorities, and bureaucratic inertia. Sound familiar?
You’re not alone.
In a survey of 700+ data leaders, 58% said strengthening governance and compliance programs is their highest priority this year. And yet, up to 80% of governance initiatives will fail.
There are dozens of potential reasons for this outcome. But one of the biggest – and arguably most avoidable – is lack of executive buy-in. When leaders don’t see or understand the business impact of data governance, it falls to the wayside.
But what if you were able to show them? What if data governance was seen not as a box to check eventually, but as a revenue driver? If your leadership team knew the ROI that a data governance platform could deliver, would it actually become a priority?
It’s time to start quantifying that ROI and showing your leaders why data governance – when done correctly – will open up new business opportunities.
The $12.9 million wake-up call
You can’t talk about data governance without talking about data quality:
- Governance sets the standard for high-quality data.
- High-quality data can be trusted for decision-making, analytics, compliance, and operations.
- Ultimately, governance makes sure that your data works.
The problem is that data quality is – to put it bluntly – pretty bad. Only 23% of organizations have full confidence in their data. And poor data quality costs companies an average of $12.9 million a year.
So if governance improves data quality, and data quality improves the bottom line, why aren’t execs paying attention to governance initiatives?
It’s not that they’re averse to data governance. They’re averse to slow, expensive, and manual projects. And let’s face it – that’s the reputation of most data governance programs. The numbers don’t lie: 62% of data leaders say governance processes delay speed to data.
How to flip the script on the value of data governance
We get it – reputations are hard to shed. Especially when you’re working in a fast-paced environment where everything comes down to productivity and hitting your numbers. Who has the time?!
But you need to flip the script, as daunting as that may seem. With staggering advances in and adoption of AI, even frameworks and processes that worked three years ago are outdated today. Bottom line: It’s time that data governance got the respect it deserves.
Before you go about flipping the script on the value of data data governance and getting buy-in from your bosses for a governance platform, you need to know this:
- The lack of focus on seeing data governance initiatives through is not a sign that your bosses are ignoring you or setting you up to fail. Just like you, they’re being pulled in a million different directions.
- Establishing and implementing a data governance framework is not the job of a single person or team. It’s a group effort that requires a clear plan and accountability.
Being realistic about those two things is key for making sure your mindset is right. With that out of the way, here’s your new mantra:
Data governance isn’t a blocker, it’s an enabler.
Think of it this way: If we didn’t have traffic laws, the roads would be a disaster – unsafe, inefficient, the whole nine yards. But we know the rules of the road, we trust that other drivers do too, and therefore, we can get from point A to point B without much trouble. Data governance works the same way.
But don’t just take our word for it. Let the numbers do the talking.
The ROI of data governance: Metrics that matter
Data governance isn’t just about policies and permissions. It’s about money.
It saves money.
It makes money.
And if you can connect those dots for leadership, you’ll stop hearing “nice-to-have” and start hearing “how fast can we roll this out?”
Executives have a favorite language: dollars. Consider this your dictionary for the metrics that matter.
1. Faster time-to-data = Productivity gains
With an automated governance and provisioning platform, you don’t waste time playing access concierge. Analysts and BI users get the data they need faster, which accelerates decision-making and eliminates redundant work.
→ Prove it: 37% of data professionals report that it takes a week or more to process data access requests. After implementing a data access governance platform, Swedbank improved process efficiency by 5x, and Thomson Reuters increased data usage by 60x.
→ Tailor it: Estimate how many hours are spent each week on manual approvals, access bottlenecks, or rework from using the wrong data. Then multiply by hourly rates. How much time and money is being wasted on tedious processes?
2. Risk reduction = Cost avoidance
A single case of unauthorized access or a delayed audit response may not seem like a big deal. But those single cases add up, and have the potential to become six- or seven-figure problems.
Governance platforms that automate policy enforcement and auditing help you avoid fines and fire drills.
→ Prove it: The average cost of a data breach is $4.9M per incident. Organizations with mature governance programs have 48% fewer incidents than those without.
→ Tailor it: Pull recent audit findings, access request delays, or compliance gaps, and attach potential costs (HIPAA, GDPR, etc.). Even conservative estimates add up fast.
3. Accessible, quality data = Revenue enablement
Governed data is trusted data – and trusted data gets used. When data consumers spend less time searching for and manipulating data, and more time using that data to launch new products, deploy models, and act on insights, the bottom line benefits.
If data users can find and access high-quality, governed data in real time, you’ll all be speaking the same data language – at the speed of business.
→ Prove it: 66% of organizations say the top outcome of their data governance program is improved data quality. Those that can operate with quality data in real time achieved 62% higher revenue and 97% higher profit margins.
→ Tailor it: Highlight a recent initiative that was delayed – or derailed – by inaccessibility or poor data quality. Then point to what may have happened if that data was discoverable and accurate from the start.
4. Lower operational overhead = Headcount efficiency
Manual policy management, access approvals, and review cycles don’t scale. Governance and provisioning platforms automate these processes and use AI to streamline them — so you don’t need to throw more people at the problem.
→ Prove it: A third of organizations have 20+ people involved in data governance decisions, increasing complexity and potential miscommunications. But introducing an automated governance platform allowed pharmaceutical giant Roche to reallocate at least two FTEs from access management to higher value tasks.
→ Tailor it: Look at how many full-time employees (or what percent of their time) are managing policies, approvals, or audits today. Explore the potential impacts if those resources were refocused toward other business initiatives.
Data governance by the numbers
If your leadership team is more interested in stats than stories, we’ve got you covered.
- Operations: Governance frameworks contribute to a 33% increase in operational efficiency.
- Cost savings: Organizations with governance in place reduce data management costs by 15%.
- Revenue: Companies that prioritize data governance have grown revenue by 20%.
- Compliance: Mature governance programs are correlated with a 20x higher likelihood of achieving regulatory compliance.
- ROI: Leaders who have deployed a data access governance solution stand to achieve an ROI of 175% over three years.
Your action plan for data governance buy-in
Now that you’ve got the language down and the stats recorded, it’s time to get buy-in. This step-by-step action plan will help you navigate the process like a pro:
1. Understand what matters to execs
You might be interested in a copilot for policy authoring or AI-driven access request recommendations, but chances are your leadership team is thinking about business metrics.
Are they focused on improving efficiency, productivity, or revenue? Is reducing risk exposure more important? Listen and ask questions to find out what makes them tick – and what drives their decision-making.
2. Connect the dots
Now that you know what metrics matter most, use the stats in the previous two sections to build a business case (or better yet, use your own if you have them).
Start with the business priority from the previous step, then identify how a governance platform would help, and finally add a supporting stat to tie it all together. This is the foundation of your pitch.
Example:
| Business Priority | Governance Impact | Support Stat |
|---|---|---|
| Improve efficiency | Reduce manual processes by automating policy enforcement | Governance frameworks can increase efficiency by 33%. Swedbank improved efficiency by 5x after implementing a governance platform. |
3. Sell the outcome
We have a tendency to talk in terms of product features, but that doesn’t fly for execs. Instead of selling the capabilities, sell the potential outcomes.
Example:
- Before: We need a platform to automate our manual governance processes.
- After: By automating the manual tasks that currently take 20 hours per week, we could save almost seven hours – and put that time toward our AI initiatives.
4. Start small for fast wins
Nothing kills an initiative faster than slow results. Time is money, and money matters to execs.
Don’t try to boil the ocean. When you make your pitch, propose a pilot project with a single business group and clear milestones. Use the SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, timebound) framework to guide you.
Example:
- Before: Our goal will be to accelerate data provisioning to all data users.
- After: We will integrate a data governance platform for the HR business unit with the goal of automating 80% of access requests by the end of Q4, in time for end-of-year reviews. If we’re successful, we will develop a plan to scale to other business units.
5. Package it like a pro
Create a presentation-ready format to package your pitch. Make it straightforward, visual, outcome-oriented, and most importantly, tailored to your key stakeholders’ preferences.
- Do they favor at-a-glance print-outs? Make a one-pager that you can leave behind.
- Do you have a regular 1:1 with them? Create a deck that you can walk them through.
- Are they budget-conscious? Write a memo that’s framed as an investment request.
Be sure to include:
- The problem (inefficiency, risk, etc.)
- Current impacts (costs, time, missed opportunities, etc.)
- Proposed solution (platform)
- Potential return (time, money, confidence, etc.)
Making the case for data governance
Data governance shouldn’t be a hypothetical. Nor should it be just a framework. Data governance should be an enabler of faster insights, lower risk, and scalable business growth. And the data shows it can be – when executed strategically and with executive support.
But it needs a champion. It needs someone to translate the impact of data governance into business terms, so that your leadership team buys into its potential.
You don’t need to be a finance expert to make a business case. You just need to focus on the outcomes: hours saved, risks reduced, revenue accelerated, and productivity gained. Start small. Tie it to real business pain. Quantify the opportunity. And most importantly, position governance not as a blocker, but as the key to provisioning high-quality data throughout your organization.
At the end of the day, doing so will not only move the needle for your company, but will allow you to scale your role without losing your sanity.
Maximize your ROI.
Get a jump start on data governance success.