Data management is difficult. Big data, cloud hosting, self-service analytics, and heightened regulation contribute to data management complexity. In response, organizations are turning to data catalogs, which are proving to be state-of-the-art data management tools. From their modest beginnings as data inventory and search tools, data catalogs have grown to support business analysts, data scientists, data stewards, data curators, and data engineers.

But a data catalog is an investment with real costs. Beyond the cost of software, a data catalog requires staffing, training, and project investments. For those seeking to implement a data catalog, getting sponsorship and funding often requires a well-formulated business case, but quantifying value and calculating ROI can be especially difficult. This e-book describes the top three value contributions of a data catalog—accelerated data analysis, reduced redundancy costs, and enabling of trusted data—and illustrates how each can be quantified.