Monthly Archives: February 2015

3 Factors Demand a Move on Metadata Management

3 Factors Demand a Move on Metadata Management

Self-Service BI

  • The more information you can provide end users, the less they will rely on IT.
  • Users need confidence level indicators.
  • Users require data dictionary at their fingertips.
  • Data Governance and Data Quality indicators are important to BI users.

In order to provide this type of information to your BI users, you will need a back-end Metadata Service which provides this type of semantic and business metadata in a concise and useful manner

Data Governance

  • Management of a metadata repository is one of the essential activities of a data steward within a governance practice.
  • Data Stewardship to ensure that the master data and metadata is clean consistent, and accurate.
  • Data Governance rules are metadata for governance.
  • Collaboration capabilities are key.

In order to provide data governance, metadata management is an important facet starting with an inventory of data assets.

Big Data

  • Big data is schema-less and mostly unstructured.
  • The variety of big data demands a comprehensive metadata catalog to manage and understand these assets.
  • Successful self service BI on Big data will be next to impossible without a metadata service.

Now is the time to start factoring in a metadata repository or cataloging system to both document and provide web services access to the metadata, through the new cloud applications and services.

Who’s Responsibility is Metadata Management

Making the Case

Over the past few weeks we have been making a case for why metadata management is necessary, especially as we move towards a Big Data environment. We had many likes and we have seen responses akin to a child not wanting to do their homework, “We know we have to do it, but it’s too hard and time consuming”. We have seen excuses ranging from it is too expensive, where do we start, it’s too much to take on, but the bottom line is if we’re going to push big data, cloud, and mobile then it better include Metadata Management as part of the stack. It needs to be explained to the decision makers as “An inventory control system for all your data that is a must have, period”. It’s that simple!
Failure to do this will increase costs to access, utilize and maintain your data dramatically.

Who is Responsible?

But IT folks are in the precarious position of being sales people. They must sell this idea to management. Since it’s an area most neglected for many years. It’s difficult to show an end to end direct benefit that affects the bottom line in a few slides or days of work.
Most believe that this has to be done, but are dissuaded by the above reasons.
Who is ultimately responsible for ensuring metadata management is part of the overall architecture? I would submit it’s not the vendor, or the crusaders out there that have been beating this drum for years, nor is it the IT department; it’s the men and women who have the power to decide and approve which solutions will be built and maintained at a company.

Conclusion

Why is there such a fear or reluctance to implement metadata as part of your solutions? It does not have to be some huge undertaking that will require a huge influx of cash and resources; you can always try on a small pilot, and then use that to show the real advantages.
See Minimal Viable Metadata
If what we said above still frightens you, here’s some information, Google uses metadata to help you find what you are looking for every day.