HBSAI & DATA GOVERNANCE

Build a strong AI foundation on data you can trust.

Strengthen your data quality, security, and governance so your business can adopt AI responsibly. Get a single source of truth, clear rules for AI use, and controls that keep sensitive data protected.

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Call 800.236.7914

Microsoft Solutions Partner for Data & AI
Secure AI Productivity Specialization
Analytics on Azure Specialization

18 locations across the U.S.

Is your data ready for AI?

Check each statement that's true for your organization today.

Check each statement that is true for your organization We know where our sensitive data lives Sensitive files are labeled or classified Every critical dataset has a named owner Teams trust the numbers in our reports We have a written policy for employee AI use We can see which AI tools touch company data

0 of 6 in place

Check each statement that's true today. Your score updates as you go.

Take the free 5-minute AI Readiness Assessment

Shadow AI is growing faster than the rules around it.

Claude
ChatGPT
Gemini
Cursor
Perplexity
Grok
DeepSeek
Otter.ai

68 percent

Breached organizations with no AI governance to manage AI or detect unapproved use

IBM Cost of a Data Breach

43 percent

Breached organizations where shadow AI was involved, up from 20% a year earlier

IBM Cost of a Data Breach

63 percent

Organizations that lack—or aren't sure they have—the data management practices AI needs

Gartner

AI and data governance services from HBS

Every tool, every service leaves a mark on your data. Here’s a an example of a client dataset after an HBS governance program, with each service pinned to the part it changes. We build on Microsoft tools like Purview and Fabric, sized to fit your organization.

Example of a governed customer dataset. Names and numbers are illustrative.

Customer master Combined from CRM and billing

Confidential

Owner: Finance operations
Definition: An active customer made a purchase in the last 12 months

Customer Region 12-mo spend Tax ID Forecast

Acme Manufacturing 3 records merged Midwest $482K ••-•••4417 $131K

Bluestem Health Midwest $356K ••-•••7781 $97K

Northline Foods Plains $219K ••-•••0932 $58K

AI access: Copilot for Sales and Finance only

Risk review: approved against NIST AI RMF

Ready for reporting, Copilot and AI models

Data governance framework

Assign owners and stewards, define shared terms and set the policies that keep data consistent. Everyone works from a single source of truth.
Data quality and integration

Fix duplicates, gaps and conflicting definitions at the source. Connected systems mean reports and AI models start from the same numbers.
Data classification and protection

We use Microsoft Purview to discover, label and protect sensitive data, with data loss prevention policies that follow it into AI tools.
AI governance and acceptable use

Decide which AI tools people can use, with what data and who approves new use cases. You get policies your employees can follow without slowing down.
AI risk review

Review each AI use case for privacy, security, bias and compliance risk. Reviews align to the NIST AI Risk Management Framework.
Predictive analytics on governed data

Put the foundation to work. HBS AI Predict builds machine learning models that classify data and forecast trends from data you trust.

How we build your governance program.

We start with what you have. Each phase leaves your data safer and more useful than before.

1 Assess

Review data sources, ownership, quality, security controls and current AI use, including tools nobody approved.

2 Define

Set owners, data standards, policies and AI acceptable use rules your teams can follow.

3 Protect

Classify and label sensitive data, apply access controls and monitor how AI tools use it.

4 Enable

Put governed data to work in reporting, Copilot and predictive analytics, then review on a set schedule.

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Backed by HBS Microsoft Specializations

Microsoft recognizes HBS with advanced specializations across analytics, AI and security. Governance touches all three, so you get one partner for the whole program.

Analytics on Azure
AI Platform on Microsoft Azure
Microsoft 365 Copilot
Identity and Access Management
Cloud Security

Data and AI on One Team

Data engineers, security specialists, and AI developers work together, so governance carries through everything.

Built on Microsoft

Purview, Fabric, Entra, and Copilot governance configured to work together, often on licenses you already own.

Local and Accountable

With 18 locations across the U.S., an HBS consultant can sit at the table with you, backed by a national team.

Ask about Microsoft funding

Microsoft funds qualifying data and AI projects through partner programs. We check what your organization qualifies for during the assessment.

Explore Microsoft Funding❯❯

Questions about AI and Data Governance

What's the difference between data governance and AI governance?

Data governance sets who owns data, how it's defined, how accurate it needs to be and who can access it. AI governance adds rules for how AI tools and models use that data, who approves new use cases and how results get reviewed. AI governance depends on data governance, so we build them together.

Do we need data governance in place before we use AI?

You need the basics. Clear ownership, labeled sensitive data and an AI acceptable use policy cover most of the early risk. The assessment shows which pieces matter most for the AI use cases you're planning.

What tools do you use?

Microsoft Purview for discovery, labeling and data loss prevention. Microsoft Fabric and Power BI for governed analytics. Microsoft Entra for access control. Where we can, we build on the licenses you already own.

How does governance help with Copilot and other AI tools?

Copilot and similar tools use the data people can already access. Governance makes sure that access is right and sensitive content is labeled, so AI answers draw from trusted sources and stay inside your policies.

How long does an assessment take?

It depends on how many data sources and AI tools are in scope. Your kickoff call sets the timeline. Early findings focus on quick wins like unlabeled sensitive data and unapproved AI tools.

Create a single source of truth for AI.

Start with a governance assessment. We’ll show you where your data stands, where AI is already in use and the fastest path to a governed foundation.