From Data to Business Value: Practical AI Governance and the Power of Data Integrity

The whitepaper, "From Data to Business Value: Practical AI Governance & The Power Of Data Integrity," is brought to you by Iron Mountain, Cognizant & PICCASO, and explores the critical need for organisations to build AI systems responsibly, focusing on value creation, compliance, and trust. It positions data integrity as a strategic imperative, detailing its five pillars—Timeliness, Completeness, Lineage, Ownership, and Trust—and the high costs of compromised data. The paper provides a practical blueprint for operationalising responsible AI at scale by embedding data integrity within an adaptive AI governance framework, with role-specific guidance for strategic, operational, and technical professionals. This guide offers actionable steps, toolkits, and case studies to help organisations transform AI governance from a compliance obligation into a strategic enabler of resilience, efficiency, and trust. To fully understand how to move your organisation from data to business value, download and read the full paper.

Three Perspectives, One Challenge

The boardroom was quiet, but the tension was palpable.

Sarah, the Chief Technology Officer, had just returned from an industry summit where the EU AI Act dominated every conversation. Her organisation was investing heavily in AI, but the questions swirling in her mind were not about innovation, they were about trust. Could she confidently tell the board that their AI systems were not only powerful but also responsible and compliant?

Down the hall, Marcus, Head of Data Governance, was reviewing a report on model performance. The numbers looked promising until he noticed a spike in anomalies. He traced the issue back to inconsistent data inputs. Again. He knew the problem was not just technical, it was structural and operational. Governance frameworks were not keeping pace with the speed of AI deployment.

Meanwhile, Priya, a Data Quality Analyst, was deep in the trenches with practicalities. Her day was filled with spreadsheets, lineage maps, and validation scripts. She understood the importance of clean data, but she often felt disconnected from the bigger picture. Why did her work matter beyond the next audit?

Three professionals. Three vantage points. One shared challenge - how to build AI systems responsibly: creating value, ensuring compliance and engendering trust.

This whitepaper is their story and yours. It builds on insights gathered from the PICCASO Lab session held at BCLP in June 2025 and its subsequent practitioner discussions. It’s a journey from ambiguity to transparency, from fragmented efforts to unified governance. Through the lens of Sarah, Marcus, and Priya, we explore how organisations can move from data to business value by embracing practical AI governance and the power of data integrity.

About PICCASO

PICCASO exists to bring together the worlds of privacy, information security, compliance, and culture to help organisations navigate trust in the age of data and AI. We are a practitioner-led network built on collaboration between legal, risk, and technology professionals who believe that governance is not simply about control, it’s about enabling confident, ethical innovation. Through our Labs, whitepapers, and events, PICCASO creates spaces for senior leaders and practitioners to share experience, test ideas, and build practical frameworks that turn regulation into resilience and compliance into performance. This whitepaper reflects that mission, providing evidencebased insight, actionable tools, and shared learning from across the PICCASO community to help you embed responsible AI and data governance within your own organisation.