
CDO Matters Podcast CDO Matters Ep. 87 | Beyond Data Catalogs: Building Context for AI and Data Products
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Oct 17, 2025 Kash Mehdi, VP of Growth at DataGalaxy, dives into the evolving landscape of data management. He discusses why traditional data catalogs fall short, emphasizing the need for data product thinking to enhance usability and context. Kash explores the integration of metadata with data quality, the importance of governing unstructured data using AI, and how organizations can avoid creating siloed AI agents by providing rich business context. He also critiques single-owner data models and stresses collaborative approaches to data ownership.
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Catalogs Need Product Thinking
- Data catalogs serve as a GPS to find what data exists but often fail on usability and adoption.
- Metadata must evolve into product-focused experiences to drive real value and usage.
Combine Best-Of-Breed With Unified UX
- Integrate best-of-breed tools for observability and quality while keeping a single user experience.
- Connect profiling, observability, and metadata so users can trust and find usable data quickly.
Profiling vs Observability Distinction
- Profiling gives useful static measures while observability provides real-time pipeline forensics.
- Both are needed: profiling for data understanding and observability for monitoring and alerts.

