How data governance builds true business resilience

Press releases & media

In TechRadar Pro, Michelle Altamura, General Counsel at Iron Mountain, discusses how a proactive approach to data governance and privacy by design transforms information management from a compliance requirement into a competitive advantage.

July 16, 2026
Iron Mountain logo with blue mountains

In today's digital economy, data privacy has evolved from a basic regulatory compliance obligation into a core business imperative and a primary competitive differentiator. Without a federal data protection law in the United States, organizations must navigate a complex, fragmented patchwork of state-level rules that creates substantial innovation drag. To overcome this hurdle, forward-thinking businesses must adopt a "highest common denominator" approach by implementing the most rigorous standards across their entire infrastructure.

True data governance focuses on optimizing information management across the entire lifecycle rather than simply keeping less data. Discarding redundant, obsolete, or trivial data (ROT) cleans up data pipelines, which directly improves business intelligence, lowers storage costs, and secures accurate AI outputs.

"The future belongs to organizations that understand a fundamental truth: you cannot build a premium technological future on a compromised data foundation," said Michelle Altamura, General Counsel at Iron Mountain. "Protecting data privacy is not a barrier to innovation. It is the only reliable way to sustain it."

To read the full article and explore how robust data stewardship builds long-term business value, visit the TechRadar website.

Loading component...

 

Loading component...

PopupForm

Content SDK component is missing React implementation. See the developer console for more information.