As organizations grow, managing data access for different teams becomes increasingly complex. Ensuring that each team has access to the right data—without compromising security—is crucial for effective data governance. This is where our new Team Selector feature comes into play, giving you more control over data visibility at a granular level.

The challenge

Managing data access effectively has always been complex, especially as data volumes increase and governance standards tighten. Data teams need to balance efficient access with keeping sensitive information secure, often requiring precise control at the schema or table level.

Secoda previously addressed this with a combination of Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) and a flexible Teams structure. In Secoda, Teams act as dedicated, customized catalogs, tailored to the specific assets and permissions needed by the users in each team. This structure allows organizations to assign permissions and customize access to resources at a more granular level. While RBAC is effective for setting broad role-based permissions, it falls short in managing team-specific data needs, which are critical for a streamlined data catalog experience. Without integrated Team-Based Access Control, assigning access to specific schemas, databases, or tables within integrations often required extra, manual steps to ensure that each team saw only the data relevant to them.

To manage these gaps, organizations often had to choose between granting broad access to entire integrations or using manual Automations to filter specific assets for each team—a time-intensive process that required regular upkeep.

Outside of Secoda, organizations use a mix of solutions like RBAC, Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC), and layered permissions frameworks, all of which are valuable but often lack the flexibility to address team-specific data visibility needs in a data catalog context. These systems can involve complex configurations, advanced infrastructure, or custom scripts, which may be challenging to maintain and scale over time.

By combining Team-Based Access Control with RBAC, Secoda’s Team Selector provides a more complete solution for managing data visibility, allowing organizations to easily assign access based on both roles and team structures. This approach simplifies access management, boosting security, productivity, and collaboration across the organization.

How the Team Selector changes the game

The new Team Selector feature simplifies data access control by allowing admins to define access more precisely within each integration. Now, instead of granting broad access or using complex workarounds, admins can easily specify which teams should have access to particular databases, schemas, as well as folders in BI tools. This advancement transforms the approach to data access in three significant ways.

First, it enables targeted access to specific schemas, databases, and folders. For teams without a governance solution, access management was even more labor-intensive: admins would need to set permissions directly in each data source, often at a granular level. Without a centralized tool, this meant individually configuring permissions across databases, schemas, or tables for each team—a time-consuming process that increased the risk of inconsistencies, gaps, and errors.

Team Selector eliminates these complexities by allowing organizations to assign access rights based on team needs within a single, integrated system. This precision minimizes the risk of accidental data exposure, ensuring that each team only sees data relevant to their work.

Second, the feature streamlines data management by tailoring data visibility. By refining what data each team can see in the Catalog, organizations can reduce unnecessary clutter in their data environment. This means that team members are not bogged down by irrelevant tables and columns, helping team members quickly find relevant data.

Finally, the Team Selector enhances collaboration across the organization. It empowers teams with the data they need to do their jobs while keeping sensitive or unrelated information secure. This ensures that data governance policies are upheld, enabling teams to work more efficiently without compromising on data security or compliance standards.

Together, these benefits make the Team Selector an essential tool for organizations looking to improve their data governance practices and foster a more secure, efficient data environment.

Why it matters for data governance

Data governance is more than just managing data; it’s about ensuring that the right people have access to the right data at the right time. The Team Selector feature makes this possible, providing a balance between accessibility and security. By giving organizations control over data visibility at a team level, it helps prevent unauthorized access and ensures that sensitive information stays protected.

By investing in tools that allow for precise data access, organizations are better equipped to maintain compliance, enhance data security, and ensure that their teams can make data-driven decisions confidently. As data governance evolves, the emphasis will increasingly be on flexibility, control, and user empowerment.

Example use cases

Here’s how Team Selector brings real value to organizations across different industries:

Example 1: Financial Services and Sensitive Data Access A global financial services company is required to maintain strict control over who can access customer financial data. With the Team Selector feature, the company can ensure that only the risk assessment team has access to specific schemas containing sensitive customer financial data, while the marketing team can access anonymized customer insights data. This level of control helps the company avoid unauthorized access and meet regulatory requirements like GDPR and FINRA.

Example 2: Healthcare Provider Managing Patient Data A large healthcare provider needs to comply with HIPAA regulations, ensuring that patient records are accessible only to authorized medical staff. By using the Team Selector, the IT team can limit access to patient data to specific medical teams while ensuring that administrative teams can access only general operational data. This ensures that patient privacy is protected, while allowing non-medical staff to perform their roles without risking exposure to sensitive information.

Start using the Team Selector today

With the Team Selector feature, you can make data access more precise and secure across your organization. Say goodbye to manual adjustments and hello to a smarter way of managing data visibility—empowering your teams with the right data while keeping everything else out of sight. 

Interested in seeing how the Team Selector can transform your data governance? Request a demo today and discover the difference it can make for your organization.

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