What is Data Contract?
A formal agreement between data producers and consumers defining data format, quality, and SLAs.
A data contract is a formal agreement between a data producer and its consumers that defines what data will be provided, in what format, at what quality level, and with what guarantees (SLAs). Data contracts prevent the 'garbage in, garbage out' problem by making data quality expectations explicit. They are a key practice in data mesh architectures where data ownership is decentralized.
Related terms
Data Mesh
A decentralized data architecture that treats data as a product owned by domain teams.
Data Quality
The degree to which data is accurate, complete, consistent, timely, and fit for its intended use.
Data Governance
The framework of policies, processes, and standards for managing data assets across an organization.
Put this into practice
Assess your maturity, discover initiatives, and build your transformation roadmap.
Start free assessment