datamallin

Datamallin is a conceptual framework for organizing, cataloging, and exchanging data assets within data marketplaces and data-sharing ecosystems. It defines data object models, metadata schemas, and API conventions intended to support discovery, access control, provenance tracking, and governance across disparate data sources.

The term has appeared in academic and industry discussions since the late 2020s as part of debates over the data economy. Datamallin is designed to be interoperable with existing standards for data catalogs and data mesh concepts, while emphasizing contract-based access and lineage.

Core components include a data asset catalog, a metadata registry, a policy and access layer, and a provenance module. Assets may be datasets, data streams, or APIs. The framework advocates modular connectors, schema versioning, quality metrics, and support for multiple data formats.

Metadata schemas cover identifiers, titles, owners, licenses, access levels, data quality scores, lineage, schema definitions, data formats, retention, and usage terms. The model favors extensibility, enabling organizations to add domain-specific fields while maintaining cross-organization compatibility.

Access is handled via an API-first approach, typically RESTful with optional GraphQL support. A policy engine enforces authentication, authorization, and data contracts that specify permissible use, retention, and sharing rules. Interoperability is a key goal, with emphasis on provenance integrity.

Use cases include data marketplaces, federated analytics, regulated industry collaborations, and research partnerships where clear provenance and licensing are required. Datamallin-like approaches aim to reduce friction in data discovery while preserving governance and auditability.

Governance typically relies on open community processes to define extensions and ensure compatibility with related standards such as data catalogs, data meshes, and data contracts. Adoption remains varied, with several pilots and open-source implementations illustrating the concept.

See also: Data catalog, Data mesh, Data governance, Data contracts.