Extract from Dan Sholler’s article “4 Ways to Build & Maintain Your Data Inventory”
An accurate, up-to-date, comprehensive data inventory is the foundation of legal organizations’ privacy, governance and risk management activities. Without one, the organization will suffer from inefficient processes, missed opportunities, gaps in coverage, and overall poor execution. It is vital that legal and compliance leaders implement a data inventory management process that is effective for their organization.
There are four techniques that are used to implement this process: a consultative approach, data scanning, privacy assessment, and a combination approach. There are benefits and drawbacks to each, but in the end, the combination approach used by Exterro Data Inventory has been proven superior in nearly every circumstance.
The 4 Approaches to Building a Data Inventory
#1:Â The Consultative Approach
This approach involves using a consulting firm, typically a big-4 type firm, to compile the data inventory. This approach seems low risk, as these firms do have substantial expertise and tools available to them for this activity.