Practical Data Governance for a Small Business

Know what information you hold

List customer, employee, finance, and operational records and note where each category lives. Identify duplicates and systems that contain information nobody owns.

Assign practical responsibility

An owner should approve access, review quality, and respond when a system changes. Set permissions based on work needs and remove them when those needs end.

Define retention and recovery

Keep records only as long as the business or applicable requirements need them. Document backups and deletion processes, then test restoration. For a broader risk assessment, see IT security services.