Data Makes the World Go 'Round

Chapter 8Data Products

In this chapter, we will examine the following:

• What are data products?
• A product-thinking mindset
• How data products are becoming part of enterprise data infrastructure
• The benefits of data products for data governance
• Organizations implementing internal marketplaces and using external marketplaces

In this last chapter of Part I, about data, we look at data products: what they are, what they involve, and how they can benefit data governance. We’ll also look at the concept of a marketplace for data product producers and consumers.

What Are Data Products?

Remember the concept of a data mesh and the idea of data as a product from Chapter 5? Data as a product was a concept that was somewhat management focused; it was about treating data in the same way you would a product. It had owners and product managers. Data products are the actual asset. They are curated, consumable, and governed assets that are derived from data. Data products are meant to solve a particular business problem—they are intentional. They often combine multiple data sources, layers of metadata, data quality controls, and access policies to ensure they’re discoverable, trustworthy, and reusable.

The goal of a data product is to provide value, not just data. That value may come from enabling better decision-making, powering customer-facing applications, enriching AI models, or facilitating compliance. Importantly, data products are developed with users in mind, whether internal analysts, ...