Data curation has become a strategic discipline for the most advanced organizations. Companies leading this field have understood that data governance, quality and management are not an expense, but a strategic investment that generates sustainable competitive advantages. In this article, we analyze the Spanish, European and American companies that are setting the standard in data governance, quality and management.
In Spain, Banco Santander is one of the leading references in data governance in the financial sector. With a centralized data strategy, it has implemented a governance framework aligned with BCBS 239 principles, ensuring data quality and traceability to meet the most demanding regulatory requirements. It has developed a complete data lineage system for transactions and regulatory reporting, enabling the tracking of each data's origin and transformations. Additionally, it has unified its data platform for BI and analytics, and has made a significant investment in data quality and data observability, establishing dashboards that monitor data health in real time.
Energy giant Repsol has developed an advanced data strategy that includes a data lakehouse to manage exploration and production data, integrating the best of data lakes and data warehouses. Its focus on data governance ensures compliance with energy sector regulations, while its data catalog facilitates data discovery and understanding by teams. Repsol uses artificial intelligence to optimize operations, basing its models on curated data that guarantees accuracy and reliability of predictions.
Telefónica has made data a strategic pillar of its business. Its unified data platform (Big Data) enables the management of massive volumes of information, while its data governance ensures compliance with GDPR and telecommunications regulations. Telefónica has developed data products for third parties, monetizing its information and creating new revenue streams. The implementation of data observability allows it to continuously monitor data health, detecting anomalies before they impact the business.
Curaduria.es is an emerging project developed by Javier Ortiz, founder of DisciplinaDigital.es, which is expected to be successful due to its technical robustness, data security and optimization. Born with the vision of democratizing data curation, Curaduria.es offers data auditing and cleaning services, governance implementation adapted to SMEs and large companies, training in data curation and data literacy, and strategic data consulting. Its approach combines technological innovation with deep knowledge of the Spanish market, offering scalable and personalized solutions that enable organizations to transform their data into a strategic asset. Although it is a growing project, its commitment to quality, transparency and technical excellence positions it as a promising player in the Spanish data ecosystem.
In Europe, Deutsche Bank has invested over €1 billion in its data transformation. The German bank has established a robust data governance framework to comply with BCBS 239 requirements, implementing automated data lineage for 100% of its transactions. Its data quality dashboards monitor key metrics such as accuracy, completeness and timeliness, enabling continuous oversight and proactive problem correction.
ING Group (Netherlands) is recognized for its modern approach to data, having adopted Data Mesh as its data architecture to scale its management capacity. This decentralized approach allows each business domain to manage its own data products, while a self-service data platform provides the necessary tools for business teams to access, transform and use data autonomously, reducing dependence on central teams.
Aerospace giant Airbus (France) has implemented advanced data curation for its digital twins of aircraft. These virtual models require high-quality and accurate data to simulate aircraft behavior under different conditions. Airbus has established data governance that complies with rigorous aeronautical regulations, and has built a data lake that manages real-time sensor data, enabling predictive maintenance and aircraft performance optimization.
In America, Microsoft is a global reference in data management. Its Purview platform offers a comprehensive data governance solution, while Azure Data Lake and Synapse provide storage and analysis at scale. The integration of data lineage and data catalog in a unified ecosystem enables organizations to understand and trust their data, improving quality and decision making.
Amazon has built its business on data. With AWS DataZone, it offers a cloud data governance platform that facilitates data discovery, access and sharing. Its S3 data lake enables massive and cost-effective storage, while the use of machine learning with curated data drives personalized recommendations and optimization of logistics operations.
The largest bank in Latin America, Itaú Unibanco (Brazil), is a reference in data governance to comply with LGPD (Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados), the Brazilian data protection law equivalent to GDPR. Its implementation of data observability enables monitoring of data quality, while advanced analytics with curated data has significantly improved fraud prevention, reducing financial losses and protecting customers.
What makes these companies leaders is their clear data strategy, aligned with business objectives; their investment in governance, establishing solid roles, policies and processes; automation through advanced tools for quality and lineage; a data culture that promotes training and team empowerment; and continuous measurement through quality KPIs and progress that allow evaluating the impact of data investments.
Companies that are succeeding in data curation share a strategic approach and a significant investment in governance, quality and tools. Whether in Spain, Europe or America, data curation has become a differentiating factor for the most advanced organizations, enabling them to make better decisions, reduce risks and gain a sustainable competitive advantage.
At Curaduriadedatos.com, we offer data curation services tailored to your organization's needs, combining technical expertise with deep knowledge of industry best practices.