Data stewards play a critical role in the management of data – ensuring data quality, consistency, and accessibility. However, not all data stewards are created equal.

This blog post will delve into the distinct roles of business and technical data stewards and explore how they collaborate to optimize data management.

1. Understanding the Roles
   1. Business Data Stewards
   2. Technical Data Stewards
2. The Synergistic Relationship
3. Managing Shared Data
4. Conclusion

Understanding the Roles

At the core, business and technical data stewards share a common goal: ensuring data quality, transparency and accessibility. However, their approaches and responsibilities differ significantly.

Business Data Stewards

These individuals are the guardians of data from a business perspective. They are deeply immersed in the operations of specific business units, understanding how data is used to drive decisions and achieve objectives. Their focus lies on:

Business Alignment: Ensuring data supports strategic business goals and objectives.

Data Meaning: Ensuring data is accurately defined and interpreted across the organization.

Data Quality: Maintaining data integrity and accuracy to support business processes.

Data Usage: Understanding how data is utilized by different departments and stakeholders.

Technical Data Stewards

On the other hand, technical data stewards are the IT experts responsible for the technical aspects of data management. They are concerned with the underlying systems and infrastructure that support data storage, processing, and retrieval. Their key responsibilities include:

Data Accessibility: Ensuring data is readily available to authorized users.

Data Infrastructure: Managing and optimizing data systems and databases.

Data Quality Tools: Implementing tools to monitor and improve data quality.

Data Security: Protecting data from unauthorized access and breaches.

The Synergistic Relationship

While business and technical data stewards have distinct responsibilities, their roles are interconnected. Effective data governance relies on their collaboration.

• Business Data Stewards define the business rules, data definitions, and quality standards. They communicate data requirements to technical data stewards.
• Technical Data Stewards translate business requirements into technical specifications, implement data quality checks, and provide the necessary tools and reports to support business needs.

Managing Shared Data

Data is often shared across multiple business units. Business data stewards play a pivotal role in this scenario by:

• Coordinating with domain data stewards to ensure consistency.
• Implementing data governance policies to regulate data usage.
• Facilitating communication between IT and business units.
• Monitoring and auditing data quality.
• Promoting data literacy.

Technical data stewards complement these efforts by:

• Providing technical expertise to support data sharing initiatives.
• Implementing data integration and sharing mechanisms.
• Ensuring data security and compliance.
• Supporting data profiling and quality assessment.

Conclusion

Both business and technical data stewards are essential for successful data management. By understanding their distinct roles and fostering collaboration, organizations can create a robust data governance framework. This framework ensures data is accurate, consistent, and readily available to support business objectives. Ultimately, the synergy between these two roles is key to unlocking the full potential of an organization’s data assets.

By working together, business and technical data stewards can create a data-driven culture where information is trusted, accessible, and used to drive informed decision-making.