Driving Data Governance Success in Real Estate

Written By Neha Sharma, Sr. Manager, Data Management

In today’s data-driven world, a strong data governance foundation is no longer optional — it’s essential. One U.S.-based real estate investment company and shared communications infrastructure provider embarked on a journey to modernize and streamline its data governance practices. The result was a major transformation that continues to deliver value across the organization. 

The Challenge: Fragmented Data Governance 

Like many organizations, this company faced significant challenges in managing and governing its sales data effectively. Key issues included: 

• No structured governance operating model to define stewardship activities 
• Lack of standardized policies, governance metrics, and data & analytics (D&A) standards 
• No clear process for managing data dictionaries and metadata 
• Limited transparency and accessibility of key data assets 
• No dashboard or mechanism to track governance initiatives and measure success 

Without a structured governance framework, ensuring data consistency, compliance, and usability across business units was a major hurdle. 

The Approach: Building a Strong Governance Foundation 

To support their enterprise-wide digital transformation, the focus was on strengthening Customer Relationship Management (CRM) operations through the implementation of a robust governance and metadata management framework. The following steps were taken: 

• Established a governance operating model to promote domain-specific ownership and accountability, underpinned by clear policies and standardized procedures 
• Built a Power BI dashboard to monitor governance adoption, measure effectiveness, and improve data literacy 
• Developed a business glossary and data catalog using Alation, enabling data asset certification, dictionary curation, and policy documentation 
• Automated metadata management using Alation’s catalog APIs, REST interfaces, and custom automation templates 

The Result: A Complete Transformation 

The results demonstrated the impact of having the right governance tools and processes in place: 

• Clear ownership and accountability – Governance roles and responsibilities were formalized and adopted 
• Increased visibility and training – Teams were better equipped to use Alation and follow governance best practices 
• Efficient KPI and policy maintenance – Governance insights became readily available to end-users 
• Enhanced data lineage tracking – Business glossary provided transparency into data relationships 
• Eliminated communication gaps – Standardized nomenclature resolved field name confusion 
• Centralized metadata management – Organizational knowledge was captured and made accessible 
• Consolidated governance dashboard – A single source of truth supported better decision-making and tracking 

This transformation highlights how a well-structured governance framework, supported by tools like Alation, can significantly improve data quality, operational efficiency, and alignment with strategic business objectives. 

Looking Ahead: Enabling Scalable Governance with Alation 

Organizations seeking to modernize their data governance capabilities can take inspiration from this journey. With the right strategy, technology, and execution, it’s possible to create a sustainable governance model that delivers real business impact. 

Partnering with experts who understand how to implement and scale platforms like Alation can accelerate your governance initiatives. Whether you’re just getting started or ready to advance your current framework, strong implementation guidance, automation, and user enablement are key to long-term success.