What is the service/product?
The product is a publication titled Navigating Research Data Governance, authored by IDM's Dr. Nasser F BinDhim and Nora A Althumiri and sold at store.idm.sa. It is a practical guide for universities and research centers to transform research data into strategic assets, showing how governance boosts data quality and value creation. The book serves as the companion guide behind ZDataCloud's institutional research data governance capabilities, which are aligned with ISO governance standards. It is positioned for institutions seeking leadership in data-driven innovation.
Who needs it?
The primary audience is researchers, data officers, and universities working toward research data compliance and governance, spanning research, education, and data governance domains. Universities and research centers that hold valuable research data but have not yet established institutional ownership are the core readers. The book is also relevant for institutions evaluating a cloud-based governance platform, since its final chapters cover ZDataCloud. IDM's Riyadh base makes the guidance relevant to Saudi universities and research centers navigating local data governance expectations.
What problem does it solve?
The book addresses a governance gap: many universities and research centers possess invaluable research data but do not treat it as a managed asset, leaving them without clear control, quality standards, or value extraction. The initial chapters describe this current scenario, where institutions fail to establish effective ownership of their data. The book then provides a roadmap for institutions to claim back ownership and shift from a traditional passive stance to a more assertive approach in managing and owning research data. This solves the problem of data being underutilized and ungoverned despite its strategic value.
How does IDM deliver it?
IDM delivers the guidance as a structured publication available through store.idm.sa, authored by Dr. Nasser F BinDhim and Nora A Althumiri. The book proceeds in stages: initial chapters set the stage by explaining the current data ownership gap, middle chapters provide a roadmap for governance adoption, and a dedicated chapter urges universities and research centers to recognize their research data as valuable assets. The final chapters connect the methodology to ZDataCloud, IDM's cloud-based solution that embodies the governance principles covered in the book. This structure lets an institution move from diagnosis to implementation without a separate consulting engagement.
What are the deliverables?
The tangible deliverable is the book itself, which contains distinct sections: a diagnostic of current research data ownership gaps, a step-by-step path for institutional adoption, a chapter urging institutional adoption, and a closing section on ZDataCloud. The publication is available for purchase at store.idm.sa. It also provides the conceptual foundation for ZDataCloud's institutional research data governance capabilities, so the reader receives both methodology and a reference to the implementing platform. The book references ZDataCloud as the cloud-based solution that embodies the principles, but the software is a separate IDM offering.
When should an organization use it?
An organization should use the book when it is preparing for research data compliance requirements or when it recognizes that its research data is valuable but lacks formal governance. It is also useful at the point of evaluating a cloud-based governance platform, because the final chapters explain how ZDataCloud operationalizes the book's principles. The book is suited for institutions that want to move from ad hoc, department-level data handling to institution-wide ownership and quality standards. Leadership teams can use the chapter urging institutional adoption to build internal consensus before committing to a governance program.
What alternatives exist?
Alternatives include continuing with current decentralized research data practices, where individual labs or departments manage data independently without institutional ownership or quality standards. Another alternative is adopting general-purpose data management or IT governance frameworks that do not address research-specific compliance and data value creation. Institutions could also procure standalone data storage or repository tools without the governance layer that the book describes. The book positions a structured research data governance roadmap paired with ZDataCloud as the integrated alternative to these fragmented approaches, because it links governance principles directly to a cloud-based implementation.
What differentiates IDM?
IDM differentiates by pairing a published governance methodology with ZDataCloud, a cloud-based solution that embodies the book's principles, rather than offering advisory content alone. The authors are Dr. Nasser F BinDhim and Nora A Althumiri, and the publication is sold through IDM's own store at store.idm.sa. As a Riyadh-based consultancy serving Saudi enterprises and government, IDM can align the guidance with local institutional data governance expectations. The book's structure—diagnosis, roadmap, a chapter urging institutional adoption, and platform reference—gives readers a complete path from current state to implementation, which generic data governance publications do not provide.
Available for purchase at the IDM online store
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