As information technology (IT) businesses have grown and matured, organizations have become more dependent on data to drive their businesses. In today’s organization, it is important to have control over the data that is flowing through the data pipeline. Organizations have been putting a lot of time and effort into creating a centralized source of customer information so that it can be used within the organization. Various data issues such as incomplete records, obsolete information, and duplicates in the data can cause organizations to lose confidence in IT-based systems. Organizations need to make sure they have the right processes to handle the collection, management, use, storage, and disposal of data. This process is known as data stewardship, and the person responsible is known as the data steward. In this blog post, we will learn about the data steward and the types of metadata that are managed by this steward.

Who is a Data Steward?

A data steward is a person who is responsible for managing the content and metadata of data elements. They incorporate processes, policies, and guidelines to make sure that the data within the organization complies with the different regulatory requirements. They make sure that the metadata of the data is managed properly. This can include capturing or documenting the various information related to the data, also known as metadata. Some important metadata Data Steward help documents are given below.

• Data Models (Physical /Logical)
• Data Definition/Glossary
• Business Rules
• Regulatory Requirements
• Data Classification (Sensitive/Non-Sensitive Data)
• Data Lineage
• Data Ownership

They work closely with the architects, and data modelers to make sure that the highest quality of the data is maintained on the platform.

Types of Personal Information

Information technology-based organizations and platforms collect various information and data related to a person or individual or an organization representing the person. These collected data can be divided into three types.

• Personally Identifiable Information (PII)
  This pertains to any information relating to a uniquely identifiable individual.

• Non-Personally Identifiable Information (Non- PII)
  This pertains to all data that is not personally identifiable.

• Sensitive Personal Information (SPI)
  This pertains to a subset of personal information consisting of important details such as sexual orientation, medical history, and financial details such as social security numbers.