Why Data Governance Fails When Only IT Is In The Room

InnovationWhy Data Governance Fails When Only IT Is In The RoomByJacqueline DeStefano-Tangorra,Forbes Councils Member.for Forbes Technology CouncilCOUNCIL POSTExpertise from Forbes Councils members, operated under license. Opinions expressed are those of the author. | Membership (fee-based)May 12, 2026, 08:00am EDTJacqueline DeStefano-Tangorra is the president and CTO of DataOps. gettyIn the last few years, across more than 200 engagements spanning defense, manufacturing, retail, aerospace, construction and supply chain, I've had one conversation more than any other: A leadership team wants to deploy AI, they have budget, they have executive buy-in, but their data is a mess.Typically, it's not because they lack tools but because nobody outside of IT was ever asked to participate in the governance of core data. Gartner Inc. predicted in February 2024 that 80% of data and analytics governance initiatives would fail by 2027 due to crisis-driven urgency, and that number doesn't surprise me because I've watched it play out in person.However, it's not because people are resisting governance. It's because the right people were never in the room for the conversations that shaped the governance program in the first place.IT is necessary, but it's truly not enough anymore.IT is responsible for managing the infrastructure, access controls and pipelines, but data governance can't live inside one department if you truly expect enterprise-wide adoption. MIT Sloan Management Review cited a 2020 NewVantage Partners survey of Fortune 1000 executives, which found that 90% noted people and process issues as the principal barrier to becoming data-driven, while only 9.1% pointed to technology.I've seen this firsthand more times than I can count. The platform is solid, and the architecture is sound, but the business still doesn't trust the data. Trust doesn't get inherited from the tech stack. It gets built through cross-functional i...