Data accessibility and data security is a balancing act for Data Architects. Have you ever had to deny data access to a group/individual in the company? What factors contributed to that decision and how did you communicate your decision?
At times, ensuring both data security and data accessibility puts Data Architects in difficult situations. Employees usually want to be granted access to as much data as possible, but security issues prevent Data Architects from allowing that in the best interest of the company overall. Unfortunately, Data Architects are sometimes put in the difficult position of denying or limiting access to data which, at times, is met with disgruntled reactions. Dealing with people in difficult and uncomfortable situations becomes a valuable skill for Data Architects to have.
"There have been many situations where I have had to deny direct access to data. If given the opportunity, people would gladly accept access to all the company data. However, it is not wise to grant open access like that as it compromises the security of the entire corporate data system. In addition, we have found that employees will misinterpret data that they are not familiar with, negatively impacting analyses conducted. In many of the companies I have worked with, we have implemented some requirements that must be fulfilled before data access is granted. The most important part of it is education. Employees must go through specific training to get data access. If there is data that we still are unable to grant them direct access to, we offer our services to work closely with them to get the information they need with our help."
