What does data ownership mean in an organizational context?

• A. The act of having legal rights and complete control over a single piece or set of data elements.
• B. The process of backing up data.
• C. The responsibility to manage network infrastructure.
• D. Ownership lies with the software vendor.

Answer: (A)

Data ownership means having legal rights and accountability for data assets within an organization. It involves determining who has the authority to decide how data is collected, stored, used, shared, and ultimately disposed of. The data owner is responsible for governance aspects such as data quality, privacy, security, compliance with relevant laws, and setting access rules and retention policies. In practice, ownership sits with the business unit or role that relies on the data, and it often works in concert with data stewards (who manage metadata and quality) and data custodians (IT teams that handle storage and technical safeguards). This isn’t about backing up data, managing the network, or outsourcing ownership to a software vendor—the owner bears the ultimate responsibility for how the data is governed and used.