Introduction
I’m sure you’ll agree that the Data Governance area at Telefónica, and almost any large company, has become a fundamental pillar in this era in which the quantity and monetary value of information is constantly growing.
Not surprisingly, the European Commission forecasts a 530% increase in the global volume of data by 2025 and economic figures that will exceed 800 million euros.
What is data governance?
The word government has connotations of guarantee and officialdom, so that when we talk about data governance we unconsciously tend to relate it only to compliance with current regulations, but while this is true, the scope of information governance goes much further.
Of course, one of the main tasks of a data governance team will be to guarantee the security and privacy of the data that the company has, and to comply with any regulatory demands regarding the confidentiality and use of this data, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
But it must also guarantee efficiency in the loading, storage, structuring and integration of all the data that the company houses and handles, as well as coordination between all the people and teams that, directly or indirectly, make use of this information.
Having structured, high-quality information will help in making the right strategic and commercial decisions and will therefore result in the achievement of the company’s economic objectives.
With what has been said so far, we could say that solid governance will avoid risks in terms of the misuse of data and its implications, as well as helping the company to maximise the economic value that it can give it.
Although the task of data governance is increasingly entrenched in large companies, we cannot consider the task complete since, like everything these days, it will have to advance and adapt to new technologies, sources of information and data diversity, and of course Artificial Intelligence (AI) is also making a strong entrance here.
The European Artificial Intelligence Act
On 1 August 2024, the European Artificial Intelligence Act, the world’s first regulation on the use of AI, came into force. The aim of this law is to guarantee technological advances, such as the evolution of generative AI, without undermining human rights.
In this sense, Telefónica has been a pioneer, and since 2018 it has been committed to self-regulation in AI governance by creating its own ethical principles to guarantee responsible AI within the company. In 2024, having already been a benchmark in this field, Telefónica endorsed the AI Pact in the European Union with its signature, in its firm commitment to responsible innovation.
Compliance with these regulations and ethical principles is guaranteed by active governance present in all phases of development of tools and business models involving AI, identifying risk according to the sensitivity of the data processed, always pursuing the economic and technological advancement of the company, but guaranteeing a positive and responsible social impact.
After all that has been written, I could have asked ChatGPT for a catchy phrase to finish with, but I didn’t need to, because I believe that the essence of data governance, that is, technology hand in hand with ethical responsibility, is already present in one of our main purposes: to make our world more human by connecting people’s lives.
