Is Your Data Your Most Important Asset?

The advent of Machine Learning and Big Data is upon us, and your data will be most effective differentiator over your competition within the next 5 years. Even if your organization is not a “technology company,” the competitive advantages of machine learning systems will force their adoption. A key to maintaining your company’s competitiveness is maintaining your data secrecy and your data flow.

As a result, businesses should create an data plan, protect its data, and cultivate that plan and those assets. At Yarbrough Blackstone, we work to help our clients implement each step. Yarbrough Blackstone works to maximize your results by working with you and our technical partners in an interdisciplinary, strategic approach.

Data Regulation & Liability

Companies are facing increasing regulation and liability from data use and dissemination. Consumer pushback and liability for data leaks has created the need for a defined lifetime for each individual dataset. Whenever a data point is created, there should be a policy that determines the lifespan of that data and a policy or deadline for that data’s destruction. The need for such a plan is growing with looming privacy laws and regulations, potential data usage laws and rampant cyber espionage.

Data Plans…

The key to every data plan is to know your data, which requires a technical, legal, and functional review. This requires an interdisciplinary approach that Yarbrough Blackstone is uniquely able to provide. The review has to determine both whose data do you possess and who in turn possesses your data. You also need to determine where your data is stored - both inside and outside your enterprise. You need to know how your data is being used, how you use third party data, and how third parties are using your data. You also need to know how your data is protected, such as encryption levels and intrusion or usage detection.

The data plan and data flow pipeline should be done for you enterprise and for any relationship with which data is exchanged. The data plan should show data sources, usages and permissions; data manipulations or modifications, storage and protections, and any distributions or transfers of data.