Data Governance

Data Governance is the operating system for enterprise data. It does not define which data exists but how it is handled. Who is responsible for which data domain? Which quality standards apply? How are changes documented and approved? How are violations of data standards detected and corrected?

In the PIM context, data governance means: defined required fields per product class, documented value lists for controlled-vocabulary fields, workflow stages with clear approval rules, audit log of every data change, and regular quality audits. These processes prevent data quality from degrading over time, which without governance is almost inevitable.

Regulatory requirements increasingly drive data governance. GDPR mandates how customer data is processed. Supply chain due diligence laws require traceability of supplier data. The Digital Product Passport demands structured product data with provenance. Pimcore delivers the platform that meets these requirements without external add-ons.