Why Data Lineage Matters
Blog post from Starburst
Understanding data lineage is crucial for maintaining reliable data systems in modern data ecosystems, as it tracks the origin, transformations, and destinations of data, offering a detailed map of its journey. Without this visibility, organizations face challenges like extended troubleshooting times, increased technical debt, and difficulties in data governance. Automated lineage tracking, integrated into modern data platforms, captures metadata in real-time, reducing the burden of manual documentation and enabling efficient impact analysis, data quality troubleshooting, and schema change management. Column-level lineage provides granular insights into data flow, which is essential for compliance, governance, and reducing risk during pipeline maintenance and schema modifications. This capability is particularly beneficial for organizations implementing data mesh architectures, as it fosters transparency and visibility, enabling teams to resolve issues swiftly and make informed decisions.