Fig. 2.1.6 Data in the data lake. Copyright Bill Inmon, 2018.

Metadata in the End State Architecture

It is not obvious when looking at the end-state architecture, but there is another important
part of the architecture that is transparent. That part of the architecture is the metadata
infrastructure that overlays each component of the end-state architecture.

The metadata are descriptive of the data that lie within the end-state architecture. The
metadata are useful to designers, programmers, and end users. In a word, anyone who
must find their way around the architecture needs to use the metadata.

It is noteworthy that each component has its own metadata and that both the component
and the metadata for that component are different from one component to the next. In
other words, the metadata for text look different than the metadata for applications,
which also are different from the metadata for the data warehouse, and so on.

Fig. 2.1.7 shows the metadata infrastructure associated with the end-state architecture.

Chapter 2.1: The End-State Architecture—The “World Map”