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Deciding how to implement data controls doesn’t have to be difficult; selecting the right offering means understanding what’s available – and how it’ll help you meet your needs for improved data management.
When deciding to build or buy a data controls solution, seek out a solution that solves your issues, performs well and shows promise for long-term use and give your organization the steadfast support it needs.
Market trends like the exponential increase in transaction volume and rapid adoption of real-time distributed systems underscored the importance of data controls, now more than ever. And as data is monitored across the modern enterprise, companies must also leverage controls to address the new realities surrounding compliance requirements. From data governance to risk management supporting an overarching effective data management strategy, data controls are the backbone of business data today.
While the need for controls is clear, companies must assess the different options for implementation and execution in order to benefit most from a data controls solution.
Build Your Own Controls
The primary benefit of a custom built solution is obvious: it is designed to address your organization’s most pressing business needs. This is certainly an attractive advantage, but it presents major challenges as well.
Cost is the main issue. The cost of a custom data controls solution is quite high overall. It is expensive to develop because it requires a wide range of expertise. Maintenance becomes expensive (and near impossible) when developers who created the original application move on to other projects or jobs.
Lack of insight on developing controls in-house is another significant issue. Deep knowledge of data controls is highly specialized, and IT leaders often develop their skill sets in other areas. Without the guidance of those who specialize in data controls solutions, critical pieces can fall through the cracks.
Pre-Packaged Solutions
In exchange for less direct oversight, purchasing pre-packaged controls software provides companies with the advantages of fast deployment and lower development costs. It also spares companies the need to invest time or money in contracting people or diverting limited IT resources to build custom controls.
Like anything else, pre-packaged solutions have drawbacks. Companies often choose this option in order to support one or more business processes. However, data quality is rarely a one-size-fits-all approach and software will fail as a long term solution if it cannot adapt to meet changing needs. This is an issue with pre-packaged solutions, as many require substantial resources to customize or expand the controls beyond their limited scope.
Best of Both Worlds
Fortunately, companies need not sacrifice details and input for cost savings and efficiency when considering whether to build or buy a data controls solutions. A standardized and configurable data controls solution can offer the advantages of custom built controls while preserving valuable resources when customization is included as a complement to the offering on the table.
The optimal data controls solutions are designed based on best practices for each industry while incorporating capabilities for expansion and continuous growth to maximize long-term value. Able to capitalize on vendor expertise, they lower development, maintenance, training and audit costs while freeing up valuable IT resources to focus on other projects. Understanding the complexity of controls, a configurable data controls solution not only minimizes internal resource constraints, but ultimately alleviates risk associated with errors and lapses in data quality standards by monitoring the end-to-end business process rather than a silo approach that just balances between two systems.
Given the importance of effective data controls, why settle for less than the best? And the best is exactly what a configurable controls solution developed by a knowledgeable partner offers. Implementing tailored solutions with care and expertise helps companies to realize value in data quality investments faster, lessening total cost of ownership while incorporating best practices for continued data management success.