Metadata has long been a useful tool in making sense of datasets; it offers all kinds of context for what this data is, where it came from, who owns it, how it relates to other data, and how it should be categorized and safeguarded. 

We can think of metadata as “data about data,” and it provides all kinds of background information about your data files. For your organization, details on these files might include things like:

• A file’s name
• The type of file
• The user who created the file
• Dates and times for when a file was created
• Dates and times for when a file is modified

This metadata is key to managing all of your data, ensuring data quality, and maximizing the potential of what you can do with it. 

Essentially, metadata makes it easier to find and work with data. It’s not metadata’s “job” to tell you what is contained in a particular asset or dataset, but instead, it tells you what kind of asset, file, or data instance something is. 

But as the volume of data an organization grows, how all this metadata is managed becomes a critical component for keeping track of it all. At present, 64% of organizations manage 1 or more petabytes of data, and 41% of these manage 500+ petabytes—each the equivalent of 1024 terabytes—of data.  

Especially as AI and ML are integrated into many organizations’ daily operating processes,  and as data is amassed at breakneck speed, metadata management must evolve to keep up with rapidly expanding data architecture. Here’s what you need to know about the importance of metadata management in a modern data architecture.

What Is Metadata Management?

Metadata management refers to managing and corralling all of this metadata so your team can use it to gain a deeper understanding of the data it describes. This kind of  management can help:

• Manage your datasets as they grow
• Track data sources and types
• Make your operations more efficient
• Reduce operational costs
• Boost data quality

With a strong metadata management strategy in place, your team will have an easier time locating and understanding data throughout its lifecycle; like with the lifecycle of a particular client or segment of customers, for example. Tracking this kind of data can even help pinpoint and address potential pain points in the customer journey.

Additionally, metadata can be an important factor in making data-driven decisions for the good of your organization. Depending on your industry and whether or not you handle personally identifiable information (PII), you may wind up with compliance violations if you fail to manage metadata effectively. Notably, poor management can lead you down the path of ineffective business decisions and missed opportunities.

Metadata management doesn’t happen by accident. It’s a systematic and intentional process meant to obtain and organize your metadata, then leverage this information to optimize what your data can do for you—rather than let it passively sit on the sidelines, not working on your behalf. In this way, metadata plays an important part in making data-driven decisions, operating at improved efficiency, and achieving compliance. 

What Metadata Management Can Do For You: Why Strong Metadata Practices Are So Vital

Metadata is a crucial component of any strong data governance strategy, and typically includes key pieces of information like:

• Date created
• Access levels and authentication 
• Who has ownership 
• Connections between sources or data files
• Architecture
• Compliance requirements to adhere to standards and regulations

With thoughtful metadata management strategies, brands can maximize their potential in regards to things like discoverability, longevity, trustworthiness, and traceability:

Quickly find relevant data sources: Managing metadata tags between systems enables you to find pertinent files and information rapidly—even if you have large volumes of files and data sets. 

Make meaningful connections among your organization’s assets: When managed effectively, metadata provides insights into things like dependencies both up and downstream, as well as how data flows through your enterprise’s architecture. This can facilitate more effective impact analysis and change management for things like how a transaction or order moves through a workflow.

Reinforce compliance with regulatory requirements: Especially when dealing with things like privacy regulations, IP, financial information, or a customer’s PII, metadata can aid in maintaining authorizations and access controls, and even for adhering to data retention periods for financial information in accordance with compliance with the GDPR. 

Preserve data and maintain access: One critical factor embedded in metadata is the data’s essential handling instructions—these specifications set rules to preserve historical data and keep assets intact and accessible, even as technology evolves.  One example of this is NASA, which uses large volumes of metadata for each space mission to preserve not just raw images and other invaluable assets, but the context behind these assets.

While you may not be dealing with irreplaceable images of our solar system, metadata can preserve identity data for customers even as you make changes to your enterprise.

How harpin AI Supports Metadata Management

One of the most crucial components of what harpin AI does for its users is evaluate entity data for accuracy, looking to eliminate inaccuracies and errors, and identify and resolve data siloes, redundancies, and other anomalies.

Once harpin AI is set up in your system, data is continuously filtered through our AI/ML tools and algorithms to proactively validate entity data in real time. So you can always trust that new data (and metadata) is pristine and existing issues will be fixed efficiently, saving you time and money. As a result, metadata with harpin AI is:

• Easier to locate, sort, and categorize
• Make more meaningful connections between datasets
• Maintain compliance with regulatory requirements
• Preserve entity data for long-term use

Want to learn more about how harpin AI can be part of a robust metadata management strategy—and more? Book a demo today!