Implementing data contracts at scale is essential for businesses and organizations to maintain data quality and consistency, especially as they grow and expand their products and services. This article will explore the concept of data contracts, how they can be implemented at scale, and how Secoda can help organizations achieve this goal.

What is a data contract?

A data contract is an agreement between teams within an organization to ensure that data assets are accurate, consistent, and reliable. Data contracts help teams collaborate effectively and maintain data quality, which is crucial for making informed business decisions and driving growth.

• Data contracts: A set of rules and guidelines that define how data should be structured, formatted, and maintained.
• Data quality: The accuracy, consistency, and reliability of data assets within an organization.
• Data freshness: The timeliness and relevance of data, ensuring that it is up-to-date and useful for decision-making.
 

How did Vanta implement data contracts at scale?

Vanta, a fast-growing SaaS company with over 7,000 customers, implemented data contracts to improve data quality and collaboration between teams. They focused on the source system to Snowflake handoff for their data contracts, using tools like Stitch, Fivetran, dbt, Sigma computing, Tableau, Polytomic, and Secoda in their data stack. This approach helped Vanta reduce on-call effort and improve data quality.

 
• Source system to Snowflake handoff: The process of transferring data from the original source system to the Snowflake data warehouse.
• Data stack: A collection of tools and technologies used to manage, process, and analyze data within an organization.
• On-call effort: The amount of time and resources required to address data quality issues and maintain data contracts.
 

What challenges did Vanta face before implementing data contracts?

Before implementing data contracts, Vanta faced several challenges related to data quality and collaboration. Rapid scaling and expanding products made it difficult to stay on top of data quality, and existing processes for managing data quality were breaking due to upstream changes. Implementing data contracts at scale can be challenging due to the complexity of data pipelines and dependencies.

 
• Upstream changes: Modifications or updates to data sources that can impact data quality and consistency downstream.
 
• Data pipelines: The processes and workflows used to collect, process, and analyze data within an organization.
 
• Data dependencies: The relationships between different data assets, which can impact data quality and consistency if not managed properly.

How can organizations implement data contracts at scale?

Organizations can implement data contracts at scale by starting small, focusing on the most important metrics and pipelines, and collaborating with partner teams to build trust and ensure data quality. They should also use tools like dbt tests and Secoda to monitor and enforce data contracts, integrate data contracts into the development process and CICD for better data quality and consistency, and regularly review and update data contracts to maintain their effectiveness.

 
• Dbt tests: A feature of the dbt data transformation tool that allows teams to define and enforce data contracts through automated testing.
 
• CICD: Continuous Integration and Continuous Deployment, a development practice that involves regularly integrating code changes and deploying updates to production environments.
 
• Secoda: A platform that creates a single source of truth for an organization's data by connecting to all data sources, models, pipelines, databases, warehouses, and visualization tools, powered by AI to make it easy for any data or business stakeholder to turn their insights into action.

How can Secoda help organizations implement data contracts at scale?

Secoda can help organizations implement data contracts at scale by providing a single source of truth for all data assets, connecting to various data sources, models, pipelines, databases, warehouses, and visualization tools. Powered by AI, Secoda makes it easy for any data or business stakeholder to turn their insights into action, ensuring data quality and consistency across the organization.

 
• Single source of truth: A centralized repository of data that ensures consistency and accuracy across all data assets within an organization.
 
• AI-powered: Leveraging artificial intelligence to automate data management tasks and make it easier for stakeholders to access and analyze data.
 
• Insights into action: Using data insights to drive decision-making and improve business outcomes.