Agile Data Governance Month – Creating an Agile Data Governance Toolkit 

In the final installment of our series in Agile Data Governance Month, we will explore tools that can accelerate implementation of use cases and simplify core data governance tasks. While no technology should be viewed as cure-all when establishing your Data Governance posture, most organizations can benefit from tools that make it easier to implement and adopt Data Governance principles. This Agile Data Governance toolkit includes tools that facilitate collaboration and automation of critical tasks.   

Data Rocket 

Data Rocket is an automation framework driven by metadata, built in Snowflake using Talend’s Data Fabric. With Data Rocket, you can easily assemble any data type from any source system, such as Relational database system (RDBMS), Flat files, Semi-structured data files (such as XML, JSON, etc.) and API data service. Data Rocket’s Governed Dynamic Ingestion ELT Process, with data pipeline observability dashboards, provides a resilient, replicable and automated way to move data to the Snowflake Data Cloud.   

Built on Talend and Snowflake 

Talend 

Talend supports Agile Data Governance with a comprehensive end-to-end data ETL/ELT platform that can move any data from any source and offers robust data cleansing, transformation, and integration capabilities. Talend’s data management guarantees the reliability and accuracy of data, equipping businesses with the tools they need to drive data-driven decisions confidently. 

Snowflake 

Snowflake seamlessly integrates the flexibility of a data lake with the structured utility of a data warehouse, offering organizations a best in breed cloud data platform. Snowflake’s stringent security protocols ensure that sensitive data is protected while still readily accessible to authorized users. This accessibility, coupled with Snowflake’s dynamic metadata management and real-time data-sharing capabilities, allows for a nimble response to changing business needs without compromising data governance standards. The result is a versatile data infrastructure where quality, security, and agility coexist, empowering businesses to make swift, informed decisions. 

Data Rocket Accelerators 

Automation and acceleration tools build Agile Data Governance into your data stack . These components include:  

• Data Quality Watch – profile and measure quality of data based on integrity, timeliness, consistency, completeness and popularity.  
• Audit and Control Framework – enable targeted, expedited troubleshooting and decreased business outage time with historic and real-time data ingestion information within Snowflake.  
• Mastered Data Framework – eliminate duplicate data to create a Golden Record in your organization.  
• Snowflake Watch – quickly gauge key volumetric stats with customizable visual dashboards, and drill down to the query- and user-level for deeper insights.   

ALTR 

ALTR is an automated solution for controlling data access and ensuring security, specifically tailored for safeguarding sensitive data from source to cloud to data users. It enables organizations of all sizes to quickly distribute more data to the appropriate users, with enhanced security measures. ALTR’s SaaS interface offers a Shift Left® approach to data access governance and data security – allowing initiation of robust data governance and data security capabilities to occur at the source and ensuring policies remain attached to the workload throughout the data journey to the cloud. 

ALTR offers a scalable data governance approach, unparalleled observability, and patented data protection mechanisms. With interactive usage heatmaps and comprehensive drill-down dashboards, organizations gain insight into data usage patterns, including who is accessing the data, when it’s being accessed, and how frequently. These capabilities allow organizations to send alerts, slow, or stop abnormal data access attacks in real-time.  

All of ALTR’s features are available on Snowflake Partner Connect- start for free and upgrade for more databases and users when you’re ready. 

SqlDBM  

Effective metadata management is the cornerstone of organized and reliable data handling within any organization. A well-constructed data model acts as a guiding blueprint, outlining how data should be structured, documented, and utilized. This structured approach not only fortifies various facets of data governance but also upholds the integrity and trustworthiness of the data itself. 

SqlDBM is a cloud-based and model-driven metadata management platform. Tailored for the Snowflake Data Cloud environment, it empowers your entire team, including database developers, architects, engineers, project managers, and data stewards, to seamlessly collaborate on data modeling, governance, and monitoring. With just a web browser, you can collectively analyze and visualize a project from inception to completion, ensuring clarity and ease of collaboration. 

Data Catalog Tools 

Modern data catalog tools can support Agile Data Governance with automated metadata management and discovery. Data catalog tools streamline operations and build trust in your data by making data definitions, lineage, and usage searchable.  

The right data catalog tool for you will depend on specific requirements, existing architecture, and future scalability needs. With a data catalog tool, you can expect some or all of the following features: 

• Collaboration: Many modern data catalog tools support real-time collaboration, where users from across your organization can annotate, discuss, and share insights about data. Collaboration features can streamline data stewardship roles and improve Data as a Team Sport initiatives. 
• Data Lineage: Data catalog tools should support robust data lineage capabilities and provide clear insights into how data moves and transforms within an organization. 
• Automation: Look for automation tools that can simplify tasks like data discovery, metadata extraction, and lineage visualization.   
• AI Integration: As generative AI becomes more commonplace, data catalog tools will continue to build on machine learning to speed up data discovery, making recommendations based on user behavior and usage patterns. 

Assembling the right toolkit doesn’t have to be intimidating. If you’re ready to get started, Passerelle can help you assemble the Agile Data Governance toolkit that’s right for you, identify your first use case, or optimize the tools you currently use. Contact us for a complimentary consultation. 

• Agile Data Governance Month
• ALTR
• Data Rocket
• Snowflake
• Talend