Everyone in your organization should understand the data that is used and use it in the same way. As part of your general data management strategy you need to think of many aspects that enable this. Think about the data quality, availbility of the data operations and security.

What you surely need to do is share with your organization what data means in business and IT terms. What data is available, how, and where can they find it? This information can be shared with your organization through either a Business Glossary, a Data Dictionary or a Data Catalog. Although often used interchangeably, they are not the same.

BUSINESS BENEFITS BUSINESS GLOSSARY

It is the lexicon of business language, which will allow for cross-functional collaboration among your business users

It can be used as an onboarding and coaching tool for new employees within your organization.

BUSINESS BENEFITS DATA DICTIONARY

A data dictionary helps to improve master data management and ensure data quality across the organization, as well as to integrate data from multiple sources more efficiently. Depending on the technical solution you use, you can enter the definition once and use it for multiple applications.

BUSINESS BENEFITS DATA CATALOG

A data catalog helps to reduce risk, and improves data efficiency and analysis.

A data catalog supports regulatory compliance by providing quick and easy access to where certain data is stored and who uses it.

It fosters a data culture throughout the organization by providing data and content It allows users to get what they want, when they need it, and trust that it is accurate because of the transparency a data catalog provides.