An analysis of data governance implications on big data

Abstract

This thesis analyses the data governance implications on Big Data, the probable challenges and prospects that Big Data adoption may present in various organizations. When the Big Data technologies landed, it came with a big buzz and disruption in both the public and private sectors. Big Data technologies have massively enhanced the ability of organizations to processes large quantities of data, analyse and visualize it in order to make sound business decisions. Globally, organizations have been able to identify the prospects of adopting Big Data and some have acted swiftly in formulating plans and strategies to build and develop their Big Data ecosystems. Organizations that seek to leverage Big Data have been traversing different strategies whereas paying minimal or no attention towards the revision of the processes, methods and policies for effective governance of this gigantic data. The lack of attention towards the governance aspect of Big Data means that Big Data governance continues to be elephant in the room for various organization. To gain an in-depth understanding, the researcher applied the multiple case study method to respond to the research questions and sub-questions. Semi- structured interviews were used to collect the relevant data and a greater emphasis on the role, experience and expertise was made to select the research participants. Furthermore, thematic analysis was used to identify, analyse and report themes emerging from the data. This study provides an extensive analysis of data governance implications in Big Data and that is a massive contribution towards broadening the understanding of Big Data governance and the value it carries. The different existing views of the data governance concept in the literature also affords a greater insight into the governance dynamics that organization may encounter when adopting Big Data. The findings of the study revealed that some organizations are lagging behind and struggling to deal with the governance complications that are presented by the adoption of Big Data and its technologies. The findings also revealed that having Big Data specific governing processes, method and policies remains a major challenge for some organizations. Characteristics such as large volume, high variety and velocity of Big Data demands a different approach to a range of data governance aspects such as data quality, security and policies.