AI-Ready Data: Inside Actian’s Data Observability Solution

The hard truth about AI projects: 60% will fail by 2026 (Gartner) – but not because of algorithms.

While 95% of companies are already using AI and 99% plan to adopt it, most are stuck in pilot programs that can’t scale. The culprit? Data foundations that simply aren’t ready for enterprise AI deployment. 

In our recent webinar, Actian’s CTO, Emma McGrattan, and Senior Sales Engineer, Scarlett Whedbee, revealed how leading organizations are breaking through this barrier with a game-changing approach to data observability.

The $100 Problem Hidden in Your Data Pipelines

Picture this: A simple typo in a customer account number during onboarding. Caught immediately? That’s a $1 fix. Discovered when invoices start bouncing? Now that’s a $10 problem involving finance investigations and re-issued bills. But if it reaches regulatory reporting? Welcome to the $100 nightmare of penalties, audits, and reputational damage.

This is the “1-10-100 rule” – and it’s exactly why shifting left in data observability matters more than ever in the AI era.

Why Traditional Data Quality isn’t Enough for AI

According to the MIT Technology Review, while 76% of organizations have deployed AI in 1-3 use cases, 50% expect full enterprise AI deployment within just 2 years. Yet Gartner predicts that 60% of AI projects fail – not due to algorithmic limitations, but because of inadequate data foundations.

The difference between AI success and failure isn’t about having the most sophisticated models. It’s about ensuring your data is complete, consistent, unbiased, and governed from day 1.

Meet Actian’s Data Observability: Your AI Data Foundation

Actian’s solution goes beyond traditional monitoring in each of the 5 pillars of data observability:

• Freshness: Real-time pipeline health monitoring.
• Data Quality: Completeness, accuracy, and validity checks.
• Volume: Anomaly detection for unexpected data spikes or drops.
• Schema: Structural change tracking across your ecosystem.
• Lineage: End-to-end data traceability for impact analysis.

What Makes Actian Different: 4 Game-Changing Advantages

Open Architecture for Modern Data Stacks

Our cloud-agnostic deployment means Actian works with your existing infrastructure – from raw JSON files to curated enterprise tables.

No Sampling = No Blind Spots

While others sample your data (potentially missing critical issues), Actian performs full table scans. In healthcare trials or financial reporting, missing even one anomalous record could be catastrophic.

Predictable, Budget-Friendly Costs

Purpose-built architecture delivers cost predictability that scales with your environment – crucial as AI initiatives expand enterprise-wide.

Security-First Design

SOC2 Type II compliant, deployed within your VPC, with end-to-end encryption. Your data never leaves your environment, we analyze the metadata, not the data itself.

See it in Action: Key Demo Highlights

During the live demo, Scarlett showcased how Actian customers gain:

• 10,000-foot pipeline visibility through unified data health dashboards.
• ML-powered anomaly detection with 16 out-of-the-box monitors.
• Automated alerting via Slack, Jira, and other collaboration tools.
• Root cause analysis tools that pinpoint exactly which records need attention.
• Data binning capabilities that separate good data from problematic records in real-time.
• Spark-powered full table scanning that processes millions of metrics without impacting production systems, delivering 100% visibility with zero performance overhead.

From Reactive Fire-Fighting to Proactive Data Trust

Traditional approaches leave teams spending 25-40% of their time putting out data fires. Actian flips this model by:

• Validating data at the source before issues cascade downstream.
• Providing real-time context when problems occur.
• Enabling immediate remediation through integrated workflows.
• Building confidence in data that scales with your AI ambitions.

The Bottom Line: AI-Ready Data isn’t Optional

With enterprise AI deployment timelines compressing from years to months, 2025 is the year to establish bulletproof data foundations. The organizations that get this right won’t just avoid the 60% failure rate – they’ll gain sustainable competitive advantages through trustworthy, scalable AI implementations.

Ready to Transform Your Data into Your AI Advantage?

Actian Data Observability bridges the gap between AI ambitions and AI success. Whether you’re a data engineer seeking pipeline reliability, an analyst needing trusted insights, or a business leader planning enterprise AI rollout, Actian provides the foundation for data you can trust.

Want to see how this works in your specific environment? Our team is ready to show you exactly how Data Observability can accelerate your AI initiatives while eliminating the costly surprises that derail most projects.

Watch the full webinar recording on our website or contact our team to schedule a personalized demo.

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.