Suggestions from similar assets

As a data team ourselves, we know that metadata curation can be time-consuming. To simplify that process, each time you fill in a metadata gap, Atlan looks for other places to reuse that information.

For example:

1. You add the description Information about customers to a table called CUSTOMER.
2. Atlan will look for any other tables called CUSTOMER without a description.
3. Atlan suggests Information about customers as the description for these other CUSTOMER tables.

Metadata suggestions are currently available for:

• Descriptions
• Terms
• Tags
• Owners

Atlan is always working behind the scenes to help fill in the gaps! 🎉

Our goals:

• Simplify metadata curation
• Reduce human error
• Improve consistency across the data stack

Frequently asked questions

Where can I see suggestions?

On the asset sidebar, where the user generally visits the widgets for metadata updates.

Are suggestions available for everything in my instance?

Suggestions are only available for assets of the same type with the same name, with one exception. Metadata suggestions can be propagated across tables and views with the same name. 

For example:

• You are on a CUSTOMER table asset with no description.
• You will only see a suggestion if there is another CUSTOMER table or view asset with a description already in place.
• If there is a column called CUSTOMER with a description, you will not see its description as a suggestion on a table named CUSTOMER.

If my asset already has that field populated, will there be a suggestion to update it?

No, suggestions are currently only available for assets without that field populated.

Do suggestions work across asset types (for example, from database to BI dashboard)?

No, currently Atlan only provides suggestions for the same asset type.

Will Atlan make suggestions for similar but not identical assets?

Not exactly. Currently, Atlan makes suggestions for assets that have exactly the same name.

For example:

• Two tables named CUSTOMER and CUSTOMERS will not share suggestions.
• But two tables named CUSTOMER, even if one is in Snowflake and the other is in BigQuery, will share suggestions.

Does Atlan come up with its own suggestions?

No, Atlan only suggests what has already been filled in for some other asset. Atlan does not create its own suggestions.

How are suggestions provided for owners?

When you update an owner for an asset type, for example, a table asset:

• Atlan automatically checks other table assets with the same name and provides the owner you updated as a suggestion.
• This works even if the owner has been updated via a workflow or API-based bulk updates.