The decision to invest in and launch a data catalog is a big one for today’s businesses, but one that more and more companies are making in light of the continued growth and expansion of big data. In fact, according to a new report from Unifi Software, the “self-service data analytic journey” often first begins with a data catalog.
To truly make the most of corporate data, Unifi Software points out businesses’ analysts need to be able to find and use that trusted data, share insights about that data, crowdsource quality attributes and have recommendations presented that relate to data sources that have been discovered. That’s where a data catalog comes in.
The new report, “Five Things to Consider when Choosing a Data Catalog,” outlines the key aspects and points to take into account when picking the right data catalog for your business.
According to Unifi Software, these include:
- Select a solution that can connect to the widest range of data sources.
- An Enterprise Data Catalog should unlock access to information for business users.
- An Enterprise Data Catalog should arm the data steward with tools to maintain data compliance.
- Select a Data Catalog fueled by Artificial Intelligence (AI).
- Data Catalog establishes and tracks Data Lineage.
The white paper walks readers through each of these considerations and details the steps to take when considering adopting a data catalog to organize your company’s data resources.
IDC expects worldwide revenues for big data and business analytics will grow from $130.1 billion in 2016 to more than $203 billion in 2020.
So, why the focus on data catalogs today? The volume of data is continuing to explode and come from various sources, including structured and unstructured data, the cloud, the Internet of Things (IoT) and more. This has also spurred growth in the business analytics market. In fact, IDC expects worldwide revenues for big data and business analytics will grow from $130.1 billion in 2016 to more than $203 billion in 2020.
In other words, there is big dividends and insight to be had if businesses can not only figure out how to organize all this data, but also how to utilize and take advantage of it.
That said, as data continues to grow, it can be overwhelming and difficult to streamline, and can inhibit visibility to data that could be useful.
And there are a wide range of different tools, data systems, files and storage systems to choose from — both on premises and in the cloud.
According to Unifi Software, if you are already considering a data catalog, it’s a step in the right direction to taking control of your data.
But not all data catalog solutions are the same.
There are four different data catalog types that are outlined in the report, including:
- Data Lake Catalog
- Data Warehouse Catalog
- Cloud Catalog
- Enterprise Data Catalog
To learn more about whether a data catalog is right for your business, as well as explore key considerations when choosing a solution, download the new white paper from Unifi Software, “5 Things to Consider When Choosing a Data Catalog.”
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