Turn CDE Policy into Practice with Alation + Blue Altair

In the age of AI, one truth has become impossible to ignore: AI is only as trustworthy as the data it’s built on. And not all data is created equal. At the heart of enterprise success with AI, analytics, and compliance lies a subset of data that matters most—Critical Data Elements (CDEs).

CDEs are the high-value data points that underpin essential business processes, regulatory compliance, risk management, and strategic decisions. In some regions, CDE management is a regulatory mandate; for example, Australia’s APRA CPS 230 requires organizations to identify and apply controls to their key CDEs. As regulatory bodies like APRA, BCBS, and GDPR intensify their focus on data controls, governing CDEs is no longer optional—it’s mission-critical.

But defining CDEs is just the beginning. To truly unlock their potential, organizations must operationalize CDEs—turning policy into practice with speed, scale, and precision. That means embedding governance into workflows, automating policy enforcement, and making critical data discoverable and usable across the enterprise.

That’s where Alation and Blue Altair come in. Together, we help organizations identify, prioritize, and govern CDEs in a way that accelerates innovation while ensuring compliance and trust.

Why CDEs are more than a governance checklist

CDEs underpin your most critical business outcomes, representing the data your organization cannot afford to get wrong. Whether it’s customer data driving fraud detection models or financial data powering regulatory disclosures, CDEs sit at the heart of modern enterprise value.

Yet without a structured framework for managing them, CDEs are often scattered, inconsistently defined, and vulnerable to misuse. 

From Alation’s perspective, CDEs are more than compliance artifacts. They are the foundation for trusted data, reliable analytics, and explainable AI. When governed well, CDEs transform data governance from a control mechanism into a business enabler.

What sets Alation + Blue Altair apart

Together, Alation and Blue Altair deliver a CDE strategy that’s automated, scalable, and outcome-driven. Here’s how:

Actionable governance: Turn documentation into execution. Alation embeds policy directly into data workflows, ensuring CDE standards are applied where work gets done.

Automation with human oversight: Alation’s AI-driven metadata intelligence paired with Blue Altair’s rule-based accelerators reduces manual effort while keeping SMEs and stewards engaged where human judgment matters most.

Federated stewardship at scale: Empower both technical and business users to manage CDEs collaboratively with shared context, definitions, and accountability.

Built-in compliance readiness: Stay audit-ready with governed lineage, traceability, and adherence to regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, APRA CPS 230, and BCBS 239.

AI readiness by design: CDEs fuel AI and ML models with transparent, bias-free inputs—enabling fair, explainable, and reliable AI outcomes.

Cost and time savings: Cut hours spent in workshops and manual reconciliation. Automate the identification and prioritization of CDEs across your data estate.

Risk mitigation: Classify and govern sensitive CDEs to mitigate breach risks and audit exposure.

Industry spotlight: Healthcare

Healthcare organizations operate in data-intensive, regulated environments. The ability to access and trust critical data can directly impact clinical outcomes, regulatory standing, and operational efficiency. Yet, many providers struggle with data silos, inconsistent records, and the tension between usability and compliance.

Key challenges

• Data silos: Disconnected systems (e.g., EHRs, lab systems) limit visibility and impact care coordination.

• Low data trust: Inconsistent records undermine clinical decisions and analytics.

• Security vs. access: HIPAA compliance often limits data usability across teams.

The Alation + Blue Altair solution

• Automated CDE identification: Tag and prioritize metadata based on business value and sensitivity—improving accuracy and reducing manual overhead.

• Federated stewardship: Clinical and administrative teams share visibility into critical data, fostering collaboration and cross-functional trust.

• Compliance by design: Governed lineage and access control simplify audits and ensure regulatory adherence.

Real-world impact

• Better patient outcomes: Emergency care teams access prioritized CDEs (e.g., allergies, chronic conditions) in real time—improving speed and accuracy of treatment.

• Operational efficiency: Automated lineage tracking identifies root causes of billing errors, streamlining back-office workflows.

• Simplified Audits: HIPAA-sensitive data (e.g., PHI) is governed end-to-end, enabling faster reporting while reducing regulatory risk.

By applying a robust, automated CDE strategy tailored to the healthcare industry, providers can elevate both care quality and operational performance—while staying compliant with the most stringent regulations.

Measurable business outcomes

Alation + Blue Altair enable organizations to:

Simplify compliance: Ensure traceable, governed CDEs meet KYC, AML, Basel III, HIPAA, and GDPR requirements.

Accelerate AI and ML: Feed models with high-quality, explainable data—reducing project risk and improving model performance.

Enable faster, smarter decisions: Empower users with trustworthy, prioritized data that’s easy to find and understand.

Improve customer and patient experiences: Deliver personalized services through consistent, governed data.

A modern data strategy starts with CDEs

CDEs are not just a compliance initiative—they’re the backbone of your AI and analytics success. Historically slow and manual, CDE identification is now accelerated through automation and AI.

With Alation’s leading data intelligence platform and Blue Altair’s CDE automation accelerator, you can:

• Launch or scale CDE programs in weeks—not months

• Eliminate data silos with a unified view of critical data assets

• Shift from compliance-centric to innovation-ready data governance

Ready to build a trusted data foundation?

If you’re a data leader looking to operationalize governance, accelerate analytics, or enable responsible AI, start with your Critical Data Elements.

Join us on June 18th at 11:00 AM EST for an exclusive webinar with Alation and Blue Altair, where we’ll show you how to put these strategies into action—turning policy into practice and unlocking business value through modern, scalable data governance.

Register now to learn how to elevate your CDE strategy and drive measurable impact.

Alation and Blue Altair can help—bringing speed, clarity, and confidence to every step of the journey.