In data governance, culture includes the mindsets, behaviours and organisational norms that influence how governance is adopted and sustained across the enterprise.

Speaking at the Gartner Data & Analytics Summit in Mumbai last week, Anurag Raj, Director Analyst at Gartner, said: “AI has amplified the importance of getting data governance foundations right, but many organisations remain focused on policy creation and technology enablement while overlooking the cultural aspects that are critical to the scaled and sustained operationalisation of those policies. Data governance without a focus on a data-driven culture is an effort in vain.”

A Gartner survey of 223 D&A leaders in March 2026 found that cultural resistance outweighs funding constraints as the primary reason governance initiatives fail (60% versus 40%).

Cultural challenges such as low data-driven maturity, poor stakeholder understanding of governance value and weak business engagement continue to derail governance programmes. As a result, organisations struggle to establish the trusted foundations needed for their AI ambitions.

“Organisations are increasingly focused on creating AI-ready data,” said Raj. “However, AI-ready data also requires AI-ready stakeholders who understand the value of trusted data, participate in data governance-related policy management activities, and overall maintain a culture of accountability and trust.”

To improve data governance outcomes that set up organisations for improved AI governance, Gartner recommends that D&A leaders:

• Align governance to business outcomes to sustain executive support. Prioritise governance efforts based on strategic business objectives and AI ambitions to deliver measurable value and maintain executive stakeholder engagement.

• Rebrand data governance as a business enabler and a team sport. Establish shared accountability across business and technology stakeholders instead of treating data governance as an IT responsibility.

• Embed data governance and culture into business workflows. Integrate data governance, data literacy, AI literacy and change management into day-to-day operations to create sustainable trust and engagement.

“Future success with AI depends as much on people as it does on technology,” said Raj. “Organisations that treat data governance and data-driven culture as the twin foundations of trust will be far better positioned to govern AI successfully and realise greater value from their AI investments.”