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Data Governance, Retention, and Risk
- Data governance
- Data lineage
- Data retention policy
- Data sovereignty
- Data steward
- Defensible deletion
- GDPR
- Immutability
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GlossaryData Governance, Retention, and RiskData steward
Data steward
A data steward is the person accountable for a body of data: its accuracy, its retention, and who may access it. What stewards need is an accurate list of what falls under them, which is what the file system alone does not give them, because recorded ownership drifts as people change roles.
Key takeaways
- Stewards decide what happens to data, such as how long it is kept and who may use it.
- A data custodian looks after the systems that hold the data.
- Both roles need an accurate list of what exists.
Why does an organization need data stewards?
Because storage teams know where data sits, but not what it is for. Without stewards, nobody can approve deleting old files, confirm what is sensitive, or settle which version is the right one, so data simply stays. Stewards give each business area a person who can make those decisions.
What is a data custodian, and how does the role differ from a data steward?
A data custodian looks after the systems that hold data: storage, backup, security, and access. A data steward is accountable for the data itself: what it means, how long it is kept, and who should use it. The custodian keeps the storage running and protected, and the steward decides what happens to the content. Both need the same accurate list of what exists.
What does a data steward do day to day?
Most of the work is answering questions and approving decisions about the data a steward is responsible for:
- Answering questions about what files are for, who uses them, and whether they are still needed.
- Reviewing reports of files that break a rule, such as data past retention or files with no owner.
- Approving actions such as archiving, moving, or deleting a set of files.
- Keeping definitions current, such as project names, retention classes, and tags.
Who should be a data steward?
Someone who knows the data from the business side, not only the storage side. A good steward is usually a senior person in the team that creates or uses the data, such as a project lead, a lab manager, or a records manager, who can say what files are for and has the authority to approve decisions about them. The storage team supports stewards but cannot replace them, because it knows where data sits, not why it exists.
How does Diskover help?
Diskover gives stewards and custodians the same view of every file, by attributes such as owner, project, age, and location, so each can act on their part.
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Last updated: November 13, 2026.
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