An Open Data Infrastructure can be secure, too

Open Data Infrastructure (ODI) is an architectural approach that emphasizes the use of open standards to enhance security and control over data, compute, cost, and shared context. Traditionally, security teams have been wary of open systems due to concerns about exposure, but ODI argues that open standards provide more control by allowing consistent application of access controls, lineage, and policy enforcement across the data foundation. As organizations increasingly adopt AI and other tools, the need for a flexible yet secure data infrastructure grows, and ODI meets this demand by separating storage and compute, reusing business definitions and semantics, and ensuring reliable and governed data access. With open standards, security controls are integrated into the infrastructure layer, enabling better auditability and trust, as security teams gain full visibility into data flow, and autonomous systems can access data safely with enterprise-grade controls. By maintaining control as systems evolve, ODI allows organizations to adapt without sacrificing governance, offering a secure, flexible path forward in a rapidly changing technological landscape.