Saudi Government Agency Implements Regulatory Compliance and Strategic Governance with OvalEdge

CLIENT’S PROFILE

The client is a government entity in Saudi Arabia responsible for managing trust funds for stakeholders in the mining industry. As part of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 initiative, the company's data must align with the compliance requirements determined by the National Data Management Office (NDMO) of Saudi Arabia. 

CONTEXT

As part of the Kingdom's Vision 2030, the government is focusing on data governance and compliance standards. A significant policy under Vision 2030 mandates that data within the Kingdom remains within national borders, with strict governance around access and usage. 

The client needed to meet over 191 compliance specifications across 15 domains, with a focus on curating and managing their data catalog, ensuring compliance with the National Data Management Office (NDMO) comprehensive Data Management and Personal Data Protection Standards. These domains include Data Governance, Metadata Management, Data Quality, Data Architecture, Business Intelligence, Data Security, and Personal Data Protection, among others. Achieving compliance required addressing complex and stringent standards.

The client sought a cost-effective platform capable of addressing the key requirements while staying within budgetary constraints. To overcome these obstacles, the client enlisted ZainTech to manage their data strategy. ZainTech selected OvalEdge as the governance platform.

WHY OVALEDGE

The client decided to choose OvalEdge after a thorough evaluation of several solutions to meet their NDMO compliance requirements. 

OvalEdge stood out due to its ability to address 85% of the compliance specifications across 11 key categories, including data cataloging, metadata management, and reporting. This comprehensive coverage made it the most suitable solution for their needs.

One of the significant factors in the client’s decision was OvalEdge's support for Arabic language requirements, a critical need for the client in Saudi Arabia. Additionally, the platform’s specialized features, such as intuitive access management and easy collaboration tools, played a crucial role in simplifying governance processes.

Cost efficiency was another major consideration. OvalEdge offered a solution that provided all the required functionalities at a significantly lower cost compared to other well-established tools. Many competitors required expensive licensing fees and specialized certified manpower to operate, but OvalEdge allowed the client to manage the solution in-house without needing specialized certifications. This affordability made OvalEdge the ideal choice for a government entity with budget constraints, while still delivering robust governance capabilities.

The consulting expertise provided by OvalEdge further reinforced the decision. The company’s ability to support the client throughout the implementation process, ensuring smooth adoption and compliance, was an added advantage. Additionally, OvalEdge’s unique features, such as metadata change alerts, customizable watchlists, and enhanced access management, were essential for strengthening the client’s compliance processes, making it a comprehensive and highly effective solution.

SOLUTION

The implementation of OvalEdge was carried out over a 75-day period.

• Week 1-2: The client onboarded various business units and identified source systems for cataloging.

• Week 3-6: Integration and policy-building took place, followed by the curation of data objects.

• Week 7-10: Tools for governance were configured, and a comprehensive governance mechanism was set up.

• Day 75: The system was fully operational, and KPIs were established for ongoing auditing and monitoring.

Following this rapid implementation timeline, OvalEdge applied its core capabilities to address the organization's needs in four key areas:

The platform's data catalog and metadata management feature enabled domain-specific searches, improving data discovery and classification. The system's tagging functionality provided a clear differentiation between technical and business assets, establishing a structured data governance framework.

To address NDMO compliance and reporting, 17 regulatory reports were generated through the platform, including data access adherence tracking, metadata change logs, and open data classification summaries. OvalEdge's native capabilities supported comprehensive data tagging and classification for both open and restricted datasets, ensuring regulatory compliance.

The platform's access management module streamlined data request workflows and approvals. OvalEdge's watch list feature kept users informed about changes to critical data objects, enhancing visibility across the organization.

Working alongside OvalEdge partner, ZainTech, the solution was configured to align with NDMO regulations. The implementation leveraged OvalEdge's standard approval workflows and tagging capabilities to establish robust data governance processes that met regional compliance requirements.

OUTCOMES

In all, OvalEdge implementation enabled the client to address 84 of the 191 specifications in the NDMO's Data Management and Personal Data Protection Standards covering 11 of the 15 domains.

However, while they chose OvalEdge for compliance purposes, the company quickly discovered other use cases for the tool. 

OvalEdge enabled the client to streamline collaboration between IT and business teams, reducing delays in report generation and ushering in a new approach to data access management. Beyond this, the client enhanced operational efficiency by leveraging OvalEdge’s data governance tools to bridge gaps between strategy and execution. 

The collaboration between ZainTech and OvalEdge underscored the value of efficient, scalable solutions in a region where certifications and strategic partnerships are essential for success. With ZainTech’s on-the-ground expertise and continuous training efforts, the project not only achieved regulatory compliance but also set a precedent for future market expansion and adoption.