Welcome, data enthusiasts! In this blog article, I will discuss a subject that is very important. Unfortunately, many clients don’t pay attention to it and end up wasting a considerable amount of time searching for the origin of information or even where they can find the data source for specific needs.
In today’s world, everyone wants information, but it’s scattered in many different places. It could be in a regular database, in the cloud, or even just in a file. Whether you work in IT or in a business, you want a way to find out what information is available in your organization. That’s where a data catalog comes in.
The Challenge: Where’s the Data?
Data is everywhere, but it’s not always easy to find. It might be in databases, in the cloud, or in files. Connecting IT and business, so what’s the solution to bring all this data together ?
What’s a Data Catalog?
A data catalog is like a central hub for all the different types of data in an organization. It organizes everything in one place, making it easier for everyone to access and understand.
Three Important Roles in Using a Data Catalog:
Data Engineer: This person is like the organizer. They use tools to add and organize information in the catalog. They also make sure the data is clean before others can use it.
Data Steward: Think of this role like a librarian. They make sure everything is well-organized with tags. They also look at metrics to see how good the data is and where it came from. They set rules so that not everyone can access all the data.
Data Consumer: This is the person who wants to use the data for analysis. They don’t want to wait for IT; they want to do it themselves. The data catalog should be like an easy online shopping experience for them.
Fitting into the Big Picture:
The data catalog isn’t alone. It’s part of a bigger process called the data pipeline. Imagine it as the endpoint of the pipeline where all the data comes together. This integration makes sure the catalog is part of the organization’s overall data management.
There are a bunch of tools for data catalogs. I won’t mention the names of any of them, but I will discuss the key features that any data catalog tool should have; otherwise, it’s not worth using.
Data Onboarding:
Your catalog should automatically profile and document the content, structure, and quality of enterprise data as it arrives from various sources.
It should generate detailed metadata and allow you to decide whether to store the data in the catalog or keep it at the source.
Automated discovery of datasets reduces manual effort during catalog setup and ongoing updates, with built-in loaders supporting various source types.
Data Cataloging:
The core of the data catalog is its ability to enhance data information, utilizing AI and machine learning for metadata management.
Technical, business, and operational metadata make each data element understandable, transparent, and trustworthy.
Data validation, profiling, and quality measures document the content and quality of each data source.
Data Searching:
The catalog must offer robust search capabilities, allowing users to search by keywords, facets, and business terms.
Natural language search for business users and advanced searches with parameters like time, format, and owner should be supported.
Data Lineage:
A reliable catalog provides full visibility into the origin, history, and movement of data over time.
This feature helps build trust in your data, identify duplicate datasets, and trace errors back to their root causes.
Data Glossary:
Your catalog software should facilitate the creation and sharing of a data glossary, defining business terms and concepts.
This ensures consistent understanding across various tools and departments.
Data Consumption:
Seamless, secure consumption by all user types is crucial.
The catalog should support one-time exports and automated publishing of custom datasets to downstream consumers.
Integration with workflow schedulers and event logging allows catalog jobs to integrate seamlessly into your broader dataflow and application schemes.
Automatic obfuscation of sensitive fields enforces data security, with options to specify record layout specs, file format, and other parameters
Simplifying Data Access and Insights
Understanding data catalogs is like having a guide to make sense of all the information around us. The roles of the data engineer, steward, and consumer are clear, showing how a good data catalog can meet everyone’s needs. As businesses deal with more and more data, the data catalog becomes a helpful tool, making access easier, ensuring good practices, and empowering users to get valuable insights.
