Description

Information is the lifeblood of any modern-day business. Companies succeed and falter based on the
reliability, availability and security of their data.

A corporation’s capacity to handle information depends upon a variety of factors, including engaged
executives and a company culture that supports collective ownership of information. However,
strategically created enterprise-wide frameworks that defi ne how information is controlled, accessed and
used are arguably the most critical elements in a successful information management programme. For
the purposes of this report, those frameworks, and the mechanisms that enforce them, are referred to as
information governance.

Are most companies properly governing how their information is used, shared and analysed? At fi rst
glance, it seems that fi rms have a solid handle on this. Worldwide, nearly 73% of respondents report that
their company’s overall ability to provide access to critical business information when needed is good or
very good, and 65% say that their fi rm’s ability to protect sensitive information is good or very good.
However, only 38% of all respondents say that their companies have a formal enterprise-wide
information governance strategy in place. In fact, fewer than half of all respondents believe that
information governance is important or very important to their company’s success today. This suggests
complacency among some companies about the true strategic importance of managing corporate
information.