Introducing Alation CDE Manager: Stop Drowning in Data Governance Busywork

You know which data matters most. So why does governing it still feel impossible?

Data leaders know this challenge well: Your legal team needs proof that PII is protected. Finance demands certified metrics for reporting. The business wants faster access to trusted data. Meanwhile, your team is buried in spreadsheets, chasing down data owners, and manually validating the same fields over and over.

The result? Governance that's always behind, teams that don't trust each other, and critical data that remains ungoverned because you simply can't scale manual processes.

Today, we're announcing Alation CDE Manager—the first solution that governs your Critical Data Elements automatically, so you can finally focus on strategy instead of chasing compliance. Explore the interactive demo below:

The real problem isn't your people—it's the translation gap

Your business stakeholders speak in terms of "customer," "revenue," and "risk." Your data team speaks in schemas, tables, and lineage. Your compliance team speaks in controls, policies, and audit requirements.

Everyone agrees governance matters. But translating business intent into data policies—then enforcing those policies consistently across systems—remains painfully manual.

CDE Manager bridges that gap. Intelligent agents automatically translate business requirements into technical controls, enforce them across your data landscape, and provide auditable proof that critical data meets your standards.

What this means for you:

• Stop the endless back-and-forth between business and data teams about what "good data" means

• Eliminate manual tracking of certification status, quality checks, and policy compliance

• Finally prove to auditors and executives that your critical data is governed—with real-time evidence, not outdated spreadsheets

Governance you define once, then it runs itself

CDE Manager connects your data catalog, quality rules, policies, and lineage into one automated system focused on your Critical Data Elements—the specific fields and metrics that drive decisions, reporting, and compliance.

Here's how it works for you:

1. Define what "trusted" means—in business terms. Instead of writing technical specifications, you declare outcomes: "Customer email must be valid and protected" or "Revenue must reconcile across systems." CDE Manager translates these business requirements into enforceable data policies.

2. Automated agents do the heavy lifting. Specialized agents continuously monitor your CDEs, verify quality, track certification status, and flag issues before they impact the business. No more manually checking if data owners have signed off or if quality checks are passing.

3. Get proof, not promises. When audit season arrives or executives ask "Are we compliant?", you can provide real-time dashboards showing exactly which CDEs meet standards—with full lineage and accountability trails.

The outcome: Your team stops firefighting and starts governing proactively. Business users trust the data. Compliance is continuous, not a quarterly scramble.

One system, one source of truth

"Today, the biggest challenge isn't creating policies—it's getting everyone to actually follow them," said Gianthomas Volpe, Sr. Director of Product Management at Alation. "Business, risk, and data teams operate in silos with different tools and vocabularies. CDE Manager creates one shared understanding of what trusted data means, then automatically maintains that standard across your entire organization."

For the first time, everyone works from the same playbook:

• Business leaders see which critical data is certified and trustworthy

• Compliance teams get continuous assurance without pestering data owners

• Data teams spend less time on governance busywork and more time on strategic initiatives

From documentation theater to measurable outcomes

CDE Manager is the first product built on Alation's Declarative Governance framework—meaning you govern by stating desired outcomes, not by documenting endless procedures.

This fundamentally changes how governance works:

• Less time in meetings aligning on definitions

• Fewer manual quality checks and spreadsheet updates

• More confidence that critical data actually meets business standards

• Auditable proof that governance isn't just documented—it's enforced

Governance becomes less about control and more about confidence—a system that adapts as your data landscape evolves while maintaining trust in what matters most.

See how it solves your specific challenges

CDE Manager is available in private beta now and will be generally available later this year.

If you’re a customer, reach out to your account manager to access CDE Manager.

If you’re new to Alation, explore the CDE Manager product, or learn best practices for launching CDEs in this webinar featuring Aware Super.