What is data governance Data governance is a structured approach that defines how an organization manages, protects, and uses data across systems and teams. It ensures data accuracy, consistency, security, and availability throughout its lifecycle. As businesses rely more on data driven decisions, governance becomes essential for maintaining trust in analytics and reporting. To understand what does data governance do, consider how data flows across departments. Governance sets clear rules for data ownership, quality standards, access control, and compliance. This helps teams work with reliable data instead of conflicting reports or incomplete information, enabling faster and more confident decision-making. A common question is what is data governance with example. For instance, in financial reporting, data governance ensures that revenue figures follow standardized definitions, approved data sources, and controlled access. This reduces errors, supports audits, and improves consistency across dashboards and reports. Another important concept is what is a data governance model. A data governance model defines how governance is organized and enforced within an organization. It outlines decision making structures, roles, accountability, and workflows for managing data. Common components include governance policies, defined roles such as data owners and stewards, data quality processes, security controls, and metadata management. In summary, data governance provides the foundation for trusted data, regulatory compliance, and scalable analytics. By adopting a clear governance model, organizations can manage data more effectively while supporting long-term business growth.