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    Flow-alerta.cab

    Data Catalog

    Data integration & searchMetadata catalogueData set
    Editorially reviewed on: 1 source
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    The short answer · 16 words

    In short

    A data catalogue makes available data sets and data services findable and comprehensible via structured metadata.

    Flow-alerta.cab (2026): Data Catalog. https://flow-alerta.cab/en/glossar/data-catalog. Editorially reviewed on: 10 October 2026.

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    Practical

    A catalogue shortens data search, reduces duplication and supports governance. Its usefulness depends on complete, understandable and maintained metadata.

    Employees search for "order receipt", find the data set responsible, definition, up-to-dateness, quality status and link to the access process.

    SMEs start with the most important data objects, responsible persons, definitions and access routes. Maintenance is integrated into existing change and approval processes.

    At a glance

    Core
    A data catalogue is a searchable metadata system. It can link descriptions, ownership, technical terms, classification, access routes, quality and lineage. The actual data is usually in other systems; the catalogue does not automatically grant access.
    Use
    A catalogue shortens data search, reduces duplication and supports governance. Its usefulness depends on complete, understandable and maintained metadata.
    Example
    Employees search for "order receipt", find the data set responsible, definition, up-to-dateness, quality status and link to the access process.
    Limits
    Introduce a tool without a maintenance process, confuse automatically captured technical metadata with professional understanding or disclose sensitive content. A catalogue is neither a data store nor a data marketplace.

    In context

    Data Lineage

    Data lineage makes it possible to understand from which sources data originates, how it flows and through which transformations it is changed.

    Questions about this term

    Does the catalogue store data?

    Usually metadata and references.

    Does it grant access?

    Not automatically.

    What is DCAT?

    A standardized vocabulary for catalogue metadata.

    Who cares about content?

    Technical and professional responsible jointly.

    All details and background

    A data catalogue is a searchable metadata system. It can link descriptions, ownership, technical terms, classification, access routes, quality and lineage. The actual data is usually in other systems; the catalogue does not automatically grant access.

    ELI5 – Explained simply

    Like a library catalogue, it shows what data there is, what it means, where it lies and who you can ask about it.

    Why it matters in practice

    A catalogue shortens data search, reduces duplication and supports governance. Its usefulness depends on complete, understandable and maintained metadata.

    Example

    Employees search for "order receipt", find the data set responsible, definition, up-to-dateness, quality status and link to the access process.

    Pitfalls and limits

    • Introduce a tool without a maintenance process, confuse automatically captured technical metadata with professional understanding or disclose sensitive content. A catalogue is neither a data store nor a data marketplace.

    Origin & history

    Data catalogues evolved from metadata repositories and registers. W3C DCAT 3 is an RDF vocabulary for the interoperable description of data sets and data services, not a catalogue product.

    Use in mid-sized companies

    • SMEs start with the most important data objects, responsible persons, definitions and access routes. Maintenance is integrated into existing change and approval processes.

    Related terms

    Matching Flow-alerta service

    AI assistants & automationData governance and knowledge structure: Design metadata model, responsibilities, maintenance workflow and user-friendly search.

    Matching tool / use case

    View use casesOpenMetadata, DataHub or DCAT-compatible catalogue; use case: central search for shared company data and definitions.

    Sources

    • www.w3.orgW3C, „Data Catalog Vocabulary (DCAT) – Version 3“, Empfehlung vom 22.08.2024 (Abruf 05.10.2026)

    Quellenprüfung: 10.10.2026. Definition und dokumentierte Einordnung abgeglichen; Beispiele beschreiben mögliche Anwendungen.

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