Which practice best describes the role of a data catalog?

• A. Archiving Logs
• B. Encryption At Rest
• C. Discovery, Governance, Stewardship Across Data Assets
• D. Real-Time Analytics Engine

Answer: (C)

A data catalog centers on making data assets visible and well-managed across an organization. It enables discovery by indexing and tagging metadata so people can find what data exists, understand its meaning, origin, and appropriate uses. It supports governance by linking assets to policies, access rules, data quality metrics, and lineage, helping ensure compliance and proper use. It also emphasizes stewardship across data assets, assigning owners and data stewards who are responsible for the quality, stewardship, and governance of data throughout the enterprise. Archiving logs focuses on retention, encryption at rest is about security, and a real-time analytics engine is about processing data—none of these describe the catalog’s core role of organizing, discovering, and governing data assets across the landscape.