Modern data catalogs capture four key types of metadata: technical (schemas, formats), business (definitions, KPIs), operational (usage patterns, SLA compliance), and governance (access controls, data classifications). These layers work together to support data quality monitoring and transparency in data pipelines.

Data observability was crucial in maintaining high data quality for loyalty programs and marketing campaigns. With real-time metrics and anomaly detection in place, Carrefour was able to improve customer satisfaction and retention through more accurate and timely insights.

Choosing the right observability tools depends on your data maturity and stack complexity. Look for platforms that offer comprehensive data quality monitoring, support for both batch and streaming data, and features like data lineage tracking and alert correlation. Platforms like Sifflet provide end-to-end visibility, making it easier to maintain SLA compliance and reduce incident response times.

Absolutely! With shared visibility into data flows and transformations, observability platforms foster better communication between data engineers, analysts, and business users. Everyone can see what's happening in the pipeline, which encourages ownership and teamwork around data reliability.

The growing complexity of data products, especially with AI and real-time use cases, is driving the need for centralized data observability platforms. These platforms support proactive monitoring, root cause analysis, and incident response automation, making it easier for teams to maintain data reliability and optimize resource utilization.

Modern platforms like Snowflake and Amazon S3 expose rich metadata and access patterns that observability tools can monitor. For example, Sifflet integrates with Snowflake to track schema changes, data freshness, and query patterns, while S3 integration enables us to monitor ingestion latency and file structure changes. These capabilities are key for real-time metrics and data quality monitoring.

While a data catalog helps you find and understand your data, data observability ensures that the data you find is actually reliable. Observability tools like Sifflet monitor the health of your data pipelines in real time, using features like data freshness checks, anomaly detection, and data quality monitoring. Together, they give you both visibility and trust in your data.

MCP empowers LLMs to use structured inputs like logs and pipeline metadata, making it easier to trace issues across multiple steps. This structured interaction helps streamline root cause analysis, especially in complex environments where traditional observability tools might fall short. At Sifflet, we’re integrating MCP to enhance how our platform surfaces and explains data incidents.