The data catalog is a fully-managed and scalable metadata management service that helps users find the data they need. Let's understand the concept of data cataloging with this example - When you go to the library to look for a book, you check the catalog to see whether the book is available, what edition it is, and where it's located - everything you need to know to decide whether you want that book or if you do, where to look for it.
Now increase the capability of that catalog to include every library in the country. Imagine having just one interface that allows you to find every single country library that has a copy of the book you are seeking and all the information you would need regarding that book. An organization data catalog accomplishes the same thing. It is a single-self service environment that helps users find and understand data.
Why do you need Data Catalog?
Today's organizations are swimming in data. The ever-increasing rate of the data is making it harder for organizations to find the right data. Valuable data could be useless for the organization if there's no fast and efficient process to find that data on time.
Data catalog allows you to see the data in the data sources from both technical and business perspectives. Data catalog consolidates and combines the collected information and can be shared with the business and IT teams.
Key capabilities of Data Catalog are as follows:
- Search and discovery
- Empowering confidence in data
- Automation and data intelligence
- Data evaluation
- Harvest metadata from various data sources
Discover, govern, and monetize data with a data catalog.
How does a Data Catalog work?
A data catalog connects data to the assets that make it useful, such as searches, histories, documentation, and glossaries. By incorporating metadata, data management, search capabilities, and governance, a data catalog helps a firm organize its data, locate the right data assets, and evaluate if an asset is right for a use case.
Here are things that data catalog can accomplish:
- Make a repository for all your information
- Users should be able to see the metadata
- Ensure data correctness and consistency
- Simplify data governance
- View and understand the data lineage
Data Catalog use cases
Once the data catalog is set up and all necessary data is recorded correctly, it opens up a world of possibilities for data-driven project development, self-service analysis support, and strategic market development.
As per the report, 85% of companies see data catalogs as a potential solution to the data challenges.
- A data catalog helps organizations in building a data development culture.
- Allows data engineers, data analysts, and data scientists to exploit data better and collaborate with one another more effectively.
- With self-service analysis, non-IT professionals can easily find the right data.
- Our visual query builder enables you to explore data without writing SQL statements.
Summary
In the current age of big data, organizations need an easier and faster way to find the right data without sacrificing governance. Your data catalog tool empowers you to get the data you need without tech efforts. And that's the reason data catalogs evolved from 'good to have' to 'must-have' tool in the organizations.
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