In an earlier blog, I defined a data catalog as “a collection of metadata, combined with data management and search tools, that helps analysts and other data users to find the data that they need, serves as an inventory of available data, and provides information to evaluate fitness data for intended uses.”From modest beginnings as a means to manage data inventory and expose data sets to analysts, the data catalog has grown in functionality, popularity, and importance. Modern data catalogs—originated to help data analysts find and evaluate data—continue to meet the needs of analysts, but they have expanded their reach. They are now central to data stewardship, data curation, and data governance—all metadata dependent activities.What is a Data Catalog?Think of a data catalog as being similar to a traditional retail catalog. Instead of information about products, it contains metadata — and data management and search tools — to serve as an inventory of available data and provide informati...
