MEME OF THE MONTH

 

Poll Results: Data Catalogs – Owned, But Underused

Our recent LinkedIn poll asked: Does your organisation have a data catalog?

Here’s what you told us:

• 33% have one and it’s active

• 30% have one but barely use it

• 32% don’t have one at all

• 5% aren’t interested

The big takeaway? Having a catalog is not enough. Too often it sits underused or disconnected from business value. For a catalog to make a difference, it has to:

• Help people find and trust the right data

• Be tied to ownership and accountability

• Connect to real outcomes, not just tech implementation

Otherwise, it risks becoming just another system instead of a governance enabler.

Conference Recap: AI & Data Governance Summit 2025

On 21 August, we hosted the very first AI & Data Governance Summit at the InterContinental Sydney. With more than 160 attendees, 30+ speakers, and five sponsors, it was the biggest gathering of Data & AI Governance leaders in Australia to date.

The weather in Sydney was miserable on the day, torrential rain and grey skies. But if anything, it made the buzz inside even stronger. By 8:30 AM, umbrellas were stacked by the door and the room was full of energy.

A heartfelt thank you to our incredible speakers who gave their time and insights, to our sponsors Actian, Alation, Experian, Ataccama, and Rubix for backing the vision, to our advisory board for helping shape the agenda, and to the DGX crew who made everything run seamlessly on the day. Most importantly, thank you to everyone who attended and brought such energy, you made the event what it was.

So, what stood out? Here are the five big takeaways from the day:

1. Foundations first: AI fails without strong data governance at its core

2. Enable, don’t block: Governance must create value or it gets ignored

3. Dynamic governance is needed: Static frameworks cannot keep pace with AI

4. Culture makes it stick: Leaders model it, people live it

5. Measure value, not policy: Adoption and outcomes are what count

We’ve shared full write-ups of the sessions here:
👉 Conference Recap – Part 1
👉 Conference Recap – Part 2

Recognising Leadership

The day closed with something we are especially proud of, the launch of our DGX AI & Data Governance Leader of the Year Award.

Congratulations to Natalie Hogan, who was recognised for her outstanding work in simplifying governance and embedding it at scale. Her story and her fireside chat summed up exactly why we created this summit, to showcase the people making governance real.

And while this year is just behind us, we’re already looking ahead. See you at the AI & Data Governance Summit 2026.

Data Governors in Cafes Drinking Coffees Recap

This month’s Data Governors in Cafes chat took place virtually with Christine Fulcher, Data and Information Governance Manager at the NSW Department of Customer Service.

Christine’s journey into governance began in an unexpected place, music.

A trained musicologist, she brings structure, relationships, and harmony to governance, seeing patterns in data much like she would in an orchestral score. Her analogies are brilliant: governance as a cake with missing ingredients, or data relationships visualised like sections of an orchestra.

Her career has spanned archives, museums, libraries, startups, and now a major digital identity project. Christine is a passionate advocate for privacy-conscious design, clear accountability, and building practical governance capability in complex environments.

One of her most memorable comments from our chat:
“People, money, and data are your biggest assets — treat them like it.”

It’s a reminder that governance isn’t just about frameworks or compliance, it’s about protecting and enabling what matters most.