Organizational leaders worldwide agree that data governance is critical — yet many do not have a data governance program in place, even as the stakes of not having one have risen precipitously. A 2024 IBM report showed that the average cost of a data breach spiked by 10% to $4.9 million over the course of the year, the highest annual jump since the pandemic. The cost of lost business drove the increase — including operational downtime and lost customers — in addition to the cost of post-breach responses such as customer service and regulatory fines. Nearly half of all breaches involved customer personal identifiable information (PII), such as Social Security numbers and home addresses, and 43% involved intellectual property.