O’Reilly Report: Foundations for Better Enterprise Data Management

Despite years of investment in AI, analytics, and cloud platforms, most enterprises are still struggling with the fundamentals of data management. Data silos, inconsistent ownership, poor quality, and unclear governance remain common blockers.

Why? Because many teams are trying to scale on shaky ground.

In her new O’Reilly report, Foundations for Better Enterprise Data Management, Actian CTO Emma McGrattan explains what high-performing organizations get right. This isn’t just another strategy document; it’s a pragmatic guide to fixing the foundation beneath your data strategy.

A Practical Framework for Data Leaders

The report is written for data and technology executives tasked with turning complexity into clarity: the CDO working across silos, the CTO enabling AI scale, or the VP of Analytics stuck between delivery and compliance.

Emma outlines five foundational pillars that modern data leaders must master to make data usable, trusted, and scalable. She also introduces six cultural traits of high-functioning data orgs, and closes the report with a 90-day plan that turns principles into progress.

Published by O’Reilly and available now as a free Early Release, this guide blends strategic perspective with operational advice.

The Five Foundational Pillars of Data Management

What do all high-performing teams have in common? A clear focus on five core capabilities:

Architecture – Modernize infrastructure without starting from scratch. Support hybrid cloud, streamline high-performance pipelines, and ensure systems work together seamlessly.

Governance – Build governance into delivery. Instead of adding red tape, design controls that scale with the business and keep teams moving.

Data Quality & Observability – Make trust visible. Track freshness, reliability, and usage continuously, not just during clean-up projects.

Metadata – Power discoverability and reuse. Treat metadata as infrastructure to provide explainability, lineage, and context.

Access & Security – Deliver the right data to the right people. Enable governed, role-aware access across a distributed data landscape.

Each pillar is explored with practical examples and design patterns that help teams move beyond theory.

Six Traits of High-Functioning Data Organizations

Emma also highlights the organizational mindset behind great data foundations. High-functioning teams:

• Treat data as a strategic asset.
• Build clear ownership and accountability.
• Design for agility and change.
• Encourage data literacy at every level.
• Embrace data product thinking.
• Align their data strategy with business goals.

These traits aren’t optional: they’re what make foundational improvements stick.

A 90-Day Foundation Plan

The final chapter offers a practical roadmap for turning strategy into execution.

Days 1–30: Assess
Inventory tools, ownership, and trust signals. Identify the most urgent gaps. Align stakeholders around shared goals.

Days 31–60: Implement
Select one or two use cases per pillar. Stand up basic guardrails. Begin measuring and reinforcing trust.

Days 61–90: Scale
Codify what’s working. Plan for wider rollout. Set the stage for long-term ownership and governance.

This phased approach helps teams build momentum while minimizing friction.

Get the Full Report

Whether you’re just beginning to modernize your data foundation or looking to scale with confidence, this guide offers a clear path forward.

→ Get your free early release copy

Start building a data foundation your business can trust.

About Actian Corporation

Actian empowers enterprises to confidently manage and govern data at scale, streamlining complex data environments and accelerating the delivery of AI-ready data. The Actian data intelligence approach combines data discovery, metadata management, and federated governance to enable smarter data usage and enhance compliance. With intuitive self-service capabilities, business and technical users can find, understand, and trust data assets across cloud, hybrid, and on-premises environments. Actian delivers flexible data management solutions to 42 million users at Fortune 100 companies and other enterprises worldwide, while maintaining a 95% customer satisfaction score.