Open for Business: Why Metadata Holds the Keys
Broadcast Date: January 15th, 2026
Today’s data landscape spans a vast range of information systems, from the warehouse to the edge, SaaS to on-prem. The average enterprise manages hundreds of applications and scores of databases. Making sense of all that data requires an understanding of what data exists, where it lives, who owns it, and how it’s actually being used, and increasingly, what it means in different business and analytical contexts..
The glue that keeps this all together? Metadata – and the semantics layered on top of it! Register for this episode of DM Radio to learn how the OpenMetadata project has become a trustedsolid foundation for organizations looking to make sense of their data estates, and how it is evolving beyond passive documentation into a living system of meaning and intelligence.
Host Eric Kavanagh will interview Suresh Srinivas, CEO and Co-Founder of Collate, and Sriharsha Chintalapani, CTO and Co-Founder of Collate, who will explain how OpenMetadata facilitates the synthesis of a wide range of information systems, and how Collate is helping organizations operationalize that foundation into governed, AI-ready data and semantic intelligence. Also joining the call will be AI Industry Analyst Mark Madsen of Third Nature, who will explain the wide-ranging value offered by the OpenMetadata platform for data and AI initiatives.
Attendees will learn:
- Why metadata provides the semantic control plane for modern, highly distributed data estates; and how it enables shared meaning visibility across hundreds of applications, databases, and pipelines;
- How OpenMetadata creates a unified system of record for data assets, ownership, lineage, quality, and usage across cloud, on-prem, SaaS, and edge environments;
- What “active metadata” really means in practice, and how it becomes more powerful when enriched with business semantics and intent tointentand how itto supports faster analytics, AI readiness, governance, and operational decision-making;
- How organizations are using OpenMetadata to break down silos, improve trust in data, and reduce friction between data engineering, analytics, and business teams;
- Why metadata has become foundational for AI, automation, and agentic systems, serving as the context-and-meaning layer that turns raw data into actionable intelligence for both people and AI systems.
Host:
Eric Kavanagh
CEO at The Bloor Group
Eric has nearly 30 years of experience as a career journalist with a keen focus on enterprise technologies. He designs and moderates a variety of New Media programs, including The Briefing Room, DM Radio and Espresso Series, as well as GARP’s Leadership and Research Webcasts. His mission is to help people leverage the power of software, methodologies and politics in order to get things done.
Guests:
Suresh Srinivas
CEO and Co-Founder of Collate
Sriharsha Chintalapani
CTO and Co-Founder of Collate
Mark Madsen
Founder of Third Nature
