Implementing the self-service data platform with Data Contracts

If you’re a data engineer, data platform engineer, or data architect, you know how difficult it is to build a truly self-serve data platform. In fact, data platforms are often organisational bottlenecks, preventing data publication, consumption, and application of data, and by extension, AI.

This means you and your team spends time on low-value work: moving data between systems, managing access policies, and handling endless support tickets.

Instead, the data platform should be an *enabler*, providing self-service tooling that shifts ownership and responsibility to data producers while freeing your team to unlock data’s true value.

In this talk, Andrew explains why the self-service data platform is the foundational layer that abstracts complexity and provides standardised, easy-to-use capabilities. The key architectural feature is the data contract, which provides the context needed to build the platform easily while maximising user value.

By the end of this talk you will:

– Understand how to shift ownership left without pushing complexity onto busy teams
– Learn how to automate data management tasks, reducing cognitive load across the organisation
– See how data contracts enable automation, transforming them from documentation into live platform features
– Explore how to embed data governance as code rather than governance by people