Meta Grid Perspectives for 2026
Why metadata management must be empirical
This post is about what I will be talking about in 2026, namely: Meta Grid. Enterprise metadata management must be performed empirically - logical, greenfield approaches to metadata is dysfunctional. That is why I will focus more on the Meta Grid in 2026.
In the second half of 2025 I had to balance and separate two things carefully in my communication: The idea of the Meta Grid and the roadmap for the Actian Data Intelligence Platform. One is a suggestion on how to do metadata management in the enterprise based on a big, complete analysis of the many technologies actually performing it - that’s the Meta Grid. The other is a product within this ecosystem of technologies - and it’s a visionary one, that deserves an explanation in its own right.
The challenge, for me, was that I didn’t want my readers and followers to think, that these two are the same. No technology in itself is a meta grid - nor should it be. Technologies must deliver a specific capability. Data catalogs and data intelligence platforms are implemented to create perfectly discoverable data, ready for analytical consumption. A Meta Grid, on the other hand, is what I call the total number of technologies performing metadata management, in fact, it’s the actual metadata values in these technologies, that constitutes a meta grid. This grid exists in every single company - this is simply not up for debate.
As we move into 2026, I will talk about why metadata management in the enterprise must be an empirical task. To make new technologies perform metadata management, we must analyze what metadata already exists in companies. There is no shortcut. Only if your horizon is very short, will ignorance of existing metadata appear to work. On a just slightly longer horizon, what you are facing is a semantic meltdown.
I don’t argue that metadata should be “unified” across all technologies. A meta grid is not master data management for operational data. Metadata does not perform actions in a value chain - metadata describes the IT landscape, to leverage a specific capability. That shapes the nature of that metadata, and that’s what I’ll focus on this year.
See you in 2026!
Looking forward to more writing on this topic Ole. I really like the metagrid concept and like the idea of tackling metadata by focusing on who had authority to decide, who has the information to know, what system are they working in and how can we maximize the quality of the metadata there, and how can we improve the flow of metadata across the grid as needed. Your books is in my short list of ones to read this year. Physical non fiction is tricky for me to find time for (I do better with audiobooks so I can squeeze it in better alongside life). But I think this is a key concept and really important for enterprises to shift to this way of thinking.
Happy new year! Indead it exists and maybe the question is rather what to do with. Metadata is just at the beginning of being discovered as a valuable asset.
Nevertheless I would be interested about the evolution of the Actian Data Intelligence Platform and if some ideas of the Meta Grid will be included?