Nathan Eddy, Freelance WriterDecember 26, 20244 Min ReadAndrey Piza via Alamy Stock The acceleration of hybrid-cloud adoption means organizations must refine data governance strategies to address growing complexity and ensure seamless operations across environments.A unified approach to monitoring and containerization will play a critical role in enhancing data portability and maintaining consistency across diverse cloud ecosystems.Data governance will increasingly rely on emerging technologies to manage and secure data effectively.A hybrid organizational approach can effectively balance centralized and decentralized data governance.Nick Elsberry, leader of software technology consulting at Xebia, recommends establishing a central data governance team to lead the program.This team should gather requirements from decentralized teams, set policies and guidelines, purchase and provide data management tools, and educate and coach decentralized teams, he says.The central team must have a strong mandate and be backed by senior management.Elsberry says regular exposure to senior management and a standing bi-monthly data governance board meeting where the central team sets the agenda is also important.AI Tools Come OnlineMeanwhile, AI-driven tools are also set to transform data governance capabilities by automating routine processes and enhancing decision-making.Related:Ari Weil, cloud evangelist for Akamai, says the biggest impact AI tools are having on data governance comes from their ability to automate processes and to dynamically ensure compliance with regulations.They can quickly scan and categorize data to identify whats subject to specific laws, such as GDPR or HIPAA, and identify where to apply or enforce policies accordingly, he says. This not only speeds up compliance but also reduces human error.One of the challenges, however, is integrating these tools with existing systems, especially if the data isnt well-organized, tagged, or if storage solutions combine data from multiple regions, making it much more difficult for AI-powered tools to accurately identify and manage data.Weaving Data FabricWeil notes the rise of data fabric solutions, which unify data management across disparate sources, will enable organizations to maintain visibility and control over their data, regardless of its location.This unified framework will be particularly valuable in hybrid-cloud environments where data often resides across on-premises systems, public clouds, and edge devices, he says via email.Kevin Epstein, director of customer solutions at ClearScale, says for organizations that have data in multiple locations -- multi-cloud deployments, hybrid deployments, or even just multiple physical data centers, data fabric is critical.Related:It doesnt necessarily mean all data lives in a single location, because data virtualization allows us to leave source data where its at, while still making it available to our data platforms through data virtualization.It makes data more discoverable within organizations and enables better governance, he explains.A Holistic Monitoring ApproachKausik Chaudhuri, CIO of Lemongrass, explains monitoring in hybrid-cloud environments requires a holistic approach that combines strategies, tools, and expertise.To start, a unified monitoring platform that integrates data from on-premises and multiple cloud environments is essential for seamless visibility, he says.End-to-end observability enables teams to understand the interactions between applications, infrastructure, and user experience, making troubleshooting more efficient.He adds collaboration among IT, DevOps, and security teams ensures the effective use of monitoring tools -- transforming data into actionable insights for improved performance and user satisfaction.From the perspective of Kevin Epstein, the best strategy is to keep things as simple as possible.Related:Try not to use multiple different tools, because then your monitoring project becomes an integration project and shifts the focus away from what youre actually trying to do, he says via email.Another key recommendation is to avoid the temptation to monitor everything.Youll just end up with alerts that nobody evertakes action against, Epstein says. When this happens its inevitable that important alerts also get ignored and overlooked.Legacy Systems, Modern Data Governance ToolsIntegrating legacy systems with modern data governance solutions involves several steps.Modern data governance systems, such as data catalogs, work best when fueled with metadata provided by a range of systems.However, this metadata is often absent or limited in scope within legacy systems, says Elsberry.Therefore, an effort needs to be made to create and provide the necessary metadata in legacy systems to incorporate them into data catalogs.Elsberry notes a common blocking issue is the lack of REST API integration.Modern data governance and management solutions typically have an API-first approach, so enabling REST API capabilities in legacy systems can facilitate integration.Gradually updating legacy systems to support modern data governance requirements is also essential, he says.Data Governance Goes InternationalWhen operating in different countries or continents, organizations must navigate various data governance regulations.Elsberry says the first step is to conduct a thorough review and analysis of these regulations to extract the detailed requirements applicable to the organization.Often, this analysis will reveal overlapping areas and significant similarities between different jurisdictions, he explains.These can be addressed with generic data governance policies and practices that apply to the entire organization.For specific requirements applicable in a smaller context, it is necessary to add policies and practices that cover those more specific needs.Leveraging compliance management tools can also help monitor and enforce regulations consistently, Elsberry says.About the AuthorNathan EddyFreelance WriterNathan Eddy is a freelance writer for InformationWeek. He has written for Popular Mechanics, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine, FierceMarkets, and CRN, among others. In 2012 he made his first documentary film, The Absent Column. He currently lives in Berlin.See more from Nathan EddyNever Miss a Beat: Get a snapshot of the issues affecting the IT industry straight to your inbox.SIGN-UPYou May Also LikeWebinarsMore WebinarsReportsMore Reports