Data Custodian vs Data Steward
Data custodian and data steward play complementary roles in data governance. Both are assigned a set of data assets for which they are accountable. It is common for a specific person to be assigned to each role as opposed to a team. Data custodians are accountable for the technical control of data including security, scalability, configuration management, availability, accuracy, consistency, audit trail, backup and restore, technical standards, policies and business rule implementation. Data stewards are accountable for business controls, data content and metadata management related to a set of data assets. They work with stakeholders that are impacted by data to develop definitions, standards and data controls. They may also sponsor data quality, data acquisition and data entry initiatives. In many cases, business units and operational units that use the same data view it differently. A data stewards is the person who makes sure that data supports all business needs and regulatory requirements.| Data Custodian vs Data Steward | ||
Data Custodian | Data Steward | |
Definition | A person who owns technical accountability for a set of data assets. | A person who owns business accountability for a set of data assets. |
Accountabilities | Data SecurityAudit TrailAvailabilityCapacityAccuracyConsistencyContinuityBackup and RestoreImplementationsTechnical Standards & Policies | Data RequirementsMetadata DefinitionMetadata ManagementData QualityData Acquisition & EntryData CurationGovernanceCompliance |
