DGIQ WEST 2024: A look into the future of Master Data Management and Data Governance
From June 3rd to 7th 2024, it was time again: More than 550 experts from the MDM and Data Governance industry met in San Diego for the DGIQ West Conference. For years, this conference has been the data industry's leading data governance and data quality event, where knowledge and experiences are shared and the latest trends are discussed.
Networking at the DGIQ West 2024 in San Diego
Once again, the DATAVERSITY team created an exciting program of intensive workshops and sessions on data management, data quality and data governance. The five-day event offered beginners as well as leading experts in the field of data management a wide range of opportunities to expand their knowledge and gain new impulses. Of course, our DATAROCKET team was also there and summarized the most important topics and highlights here:
Looking to the future
Robert S. Seiner's inspiring keynote, Navigating Data Governance in 2024, provided a good overview of the topics, opportunities and challenges that will shape the world of data today and, above all, in the future. The subsequent panel discussion with Lauren Maffeo (The Pragmatic Programmers), Mathias Vercauteren (Data Vantage Consulting) and Rob Jackson-Jones (IBM) was also characterized by a lively exchange and exciting insights. The panel focused on effective MDM and data governance strategies that can be used to meet the new challenges and the opportunities they present.
Robert S. Seiner's keynote at the DGIQ West 2024 in San Diego
Organizational integration and structure
The need for effective data management and data governance within an organization is growing as more and more companies recognize the value and business benefits. Not surprisingly, there is a growing demand for guidance and support on how and where to embed data management and governance in the enterprise.
The 5-day event offered a comprehensive range of information on the topic. The topics ranged from strategic integration with corporate strategy, which Peter Aigen (VCU/AnythingAwesome) addressed in his presentation Connecting Data Governance and Quality to Organizational Value, to the relevance of the chosen integration approach and data architecture, which was discussed by Lauren Maffeo (The Pragmatic Programmers) in Designing Data Governance for Data Mesh Architecture and Michael Payne and Tammy Freeman (Oregon Department of Human Services) in Take Your Protein Pill and Put Your Helmet On.
Practical workshops on data governance were also offered, such as Empowering New Data Stewards by Cher Fox (Fox Consulting), which focused on specific roles and their responsibilities, and Data Governance on a Budget by Colette Leung (NAIT) and Rose Hansen (mPulse), which focused on cost-conscious implementation of effective data governance.
Internal Understanding and Corporate Data Culture
Internal understanding of data governance and management is becoming increasingly important, as sessions by Scott Garner (Global Data Strategy) - Bridging the Gap Between Data Language and Business Speak - Can You Talk the Talk? - and Thomas Redman (Data Quality Solutions) - Building Data Culture: Why, What, and How. This includes, above all, support for specialist departments and managers.
AI in use in the world of data
AI and its use in data management and data governance was and remains one of the top topics - after all, it touches many aspects of the world of data! The variety of topics covered in the seminars and presentations in San Diego was correspondingly large.
While Rob Jackson-Jones (IBM) gave a good overview of the areas of application, points of contact and advantages of AI in data management in his presentation Data Governance and the Two Sides of the AI Coin and Yetkin Ozkucur (Quest Software) in his presentation Bridging the Gap Between Your Data and the Real World, John O'Brien (Radiant Advisors) emphasized once again in his workshop Trusted and Governed Data for Analytics and AI Using Active Metadata and Data Observability that a solid foundation is first needed for the use of AI and data analysis and how essential good metadata management and data monitoring are.
Many seminars were also offered on the practical use of AI. For example, Minh Tran and Melanie Brunache (IBM) showed in An End-to-End Approach to Data and AI Governance how AI can be anchored in business and data strategy in practice. Another interesting session was Mastering the Dark Data Challenge by Maryam Nozari and Urmi Majumder (Enterprise Knowledge), which highlighted the benefits of AI in dealing with dark data.
The New Challenge of AI Governance
As the impact and applications of AI continue to grow, so does the need for regulations and guidelines for organizations to ensure the good and safe use of AI. It is therefore not surprising that DGIQ West 2024 has dedicated an entire track to this topic. Karen Lopez (InfoAdvisors) in Data Ethics and Responsible AI and Laura Harder (Northern Colorado ISSA) in From Algorithms to Ethics: A Comprehensive Guide to AI Governance invited participants to an open exchange and intensive discussion on the new and unique challenges of using AI in terms of corporate responsibility and business ethics.
New legal regulations related to data governance, compliance and privacy are also playing an increasingly important role and must be taken into account when using AI, as shown in the papers Adding AI Governance to an Established Data Governance Program by Curtis Mischler (Roosevelt Innovations), Contemplating Governance in the AI Era by Kelle O'Neal (First San Francisco Partners) and Christine Haskell (Christine Haskell Consulting LLC) or Adapting AI Governance for Responsible Generative AI Adoption by Robert Bagley.
Networking
The data industry thrives on mutual exchange - so it's no wonder that the DATAVERSITY team has once again created plenty of space in this year's conference program for getting to know each other, discussing and networking - which strengthens the community.
Participants exchanging ideas at DGIQ West
Conclusion
DGIQ West 2024 has once again shown that the relevance of data management for and in companies has continued to grow significantly. At the same time, it was clear in many ways how the topic of AI is becoming more and more established. Now more than ever, data-driven organizations must rely on future-proof data strategies and robust governance frameworks to remain successful.
In any case, our team came back with many exciting impressions and fresh ideas and is looking forward to further exchange with all the experts and, of course, to the next DGIQ conference!
