What is our primary use case?
I'm not a part of the tech team. I'm definitely part of the master data management, wherein we are providing services with respect to master data. Our services are focused on just the business-specific areas such as pharma commercials and pharma supply chains, and we have also built the lineage in R&D areas.
In some specific use cases, we are mapping the processes, the respective sources and basically using the entire asset model of Collibra, starting from process, to attributes, to data modeling. We are tracking everything in Collibra.
What is most valuable?
Metadata management is one of the key aspects of the product we really appreciate.
The lineage is one of the important features as well. We felt the asset model is very good.
We have tried implementing some of the out-of-the-box workflows of Collibra however, we have also used some customized workflows. Customized workflows in terms of data stewardship, assigning basic roles and responsibilities, for issue management, et cetera. They are very useful in setting up the proper governance. Previously, our metadata and repositories were scattered. Since using Collibra, they're all coming into a centralized location.
Overall, it is a good tool, due to the fact that, with other tools, in some or other way they are lacking certain capabilities.
There are extract, transform, and load tools wherein you can track the data lineage. You can track technical lineage, though not exactly proper lineage. That said, Collibra is a good tool to track, everything starting from process to the attribute table column level.
It is user-friendly. I could easily go into the Collibra UI and explore the key features.
The solution has very good online assistance. Collibra University is definitely a great help. There are all of these free resources wherein wherever you are stuck, you can go and check and come back and fix items.
What we have done is, we have internally set up a self-service process. We could set up a self-service process within Collibra wherein business stakeholders can come and they can onboard themselves on Collibra. My team specifically is just educating them and helping them following the best practices of Collibra asset model and community. We are setting up their roles and responsibilities, community managers, the manager stewardship, et cetera. We can set everything up so that users can come and onboard themselves.
What needs improvement?
Right now, its maturity is at, I would say, a moderate level. The plan is to expand it to use it for full maturity. It cannot be directly integrated as a data quality tool, for example.
Collibra doesn't provide support for integration for SAP Info Steward directly with Collibra. Going forward, we are planning to use Collibra and trying to replace other, I would say, other peripheral tools in the architecture so that we can make it more automated and have proper governance control in that.
In general, the solution isn't quite in a nascent stage, where we are using the data quality rules, business rules, everything we are exploring how to implement and then further integrating it with other platforms and use cases with respect to business areas.
For how long have I used the solution?
I haven't used the solution for very long. I joined my organization almost eight to nine months ago, however, I've been using it for the past six or seven months. It's been under a year at this point.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
The solution is stable. We can definitely rely on it. If it's a storage solution, other maintenance, and other cost perspectives come into play. However, we are not using it that way. It does not have storage capability. We are exploring how to better complement that with a Data Modeler. That said, we have no issues with it crashing or freezing and there are no bugs or glitches.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
I have not tried to expand the solution and therefore cannot speak to the scalability of the product.
The solution is extensively being used. It's likely that we might increase usage.
Right now it is limited to a few use cases, however, Collibra has been identified as a solution that should be used to scale up. It should basically be used under full maturity. We are trying to basically onboard many, many more businesses.
For now, for example, we just have a pharma supply chain. However, we are in touch with the other stakeholders. We are trying to convince them by showing them the capability of Collibra, so that they can better manage their data.
The objective is to onboard people on Collibra and no other data governance tool. This is one tool which, will be a place of central governance. There have been some businesses that are using Ataccama or SAP MDM. However, Collibra is the one that is supposed to grow further. There is no plan to stop using it.
How are customer service and support?
Our company is very much in touch with technical support. That said, I am part of the master data management team and therefore I do not contact them directly. However, the core tech team definitely is regularly in touch with the Collibra tech support team.
I personally have just attended a couple of sessions with Collibra consultants, wherein they provided an overview of what they have done for GSK until now.
My entire team is new, so we had a couple of sessions with Collibra folks. They provided very good support and a very helpful overview.
How was the initial setup?
I was not a part of the initial setup. I joined the company after it was implemented. I cannot speak to the implementation or deployment process. I have no insights into that aspect of the product.
What about the implementation team?
Collibra initiated the implementation somewhere around July 2019.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
While I do not have too much insight into the licensing aspect of the solution, I can say that we are not charged monthly. We might have to pay on a yearly basis.
I can't speak to the pricing. I'm unsure as to if it is expensive or reasonably priced.
What other advice do I have?
We are not a reseller. We are likely only a customer and end-user.
I'm not sure which version of the solution we're currently using. I don't know ht eversion number off-hand.
I would recommend the solution to other organizations. There are not many competitors in the market for checking the data lineage and there are some data modeling tools. It's just that it's more about how an organization visualizes and how they want to track the lineage. Collibra is definitely a good tool from a governance perspective.
Right now, our plan is to basically use the Collibra lineage entirely, in data lakes, in metadata management, et cetera. Basically, we want to integrate everywhere so that nothing bypasses the governance.
On a scale from one to ten, I would rate the solution at a seven.
Which deployment model are you using for this solution?
Hybrid Cloud
*Disclosure: My company does not have a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer.
