Alation Launches CDE Manager to Automate Data Governance with AI Agents

Alation has announced Alation CDE Manager, the first AI-powered solution designed to automate governance of Critical Data Elements. The platform, available now in private beta with general availability expected later this year, uses agentic AI to translate business policies into enforceable data standards without manual intervention.

How It Works

CDE Manager deploys specialized AI agents that automatically monitor critical data, verify quality, track certification status, and flag compliance issues before they impact business operations. The platform connects data catalogs, quality rules, policies, and lineage into a unified system focused on the specific fields and metrics that drive decisions, reporting, and compliance. Business teams can declare outcomes in plain language like "Customer email must be valid and protected," which the system converts into technical controls and enforces across the data landscape.

Addressing the Governance Gap

The announcement targets a persistent challenge facing data organizations: the translation gap between business requirements and technical implementation. According to Gianthomas Volpe, Sr. Director of Product Management at Alation, "Business, risk, and data teams operate in silos with different tools and vocabularies. CDE Manager creates one shared understanding of what trusted data means, then automatically maintains that standard across your entire organization."

Built on Declarative Governance

CDE Manager is the first product built on Alation's Declarative Governance framework, which shifts governance from documentation-focused processes to outcome-focused automation. Rather than manually tracking spreadsheets and chasing down data owners, compliance teams receive continuous assurance with real-time dashboards showing which CDEs meet standards. Early customer HBF Health Limited reports that the platform "streamlined workflows and saved a huge amount of time" through its automated information extraction capabilities.

Availability

Existing Alation customers can access the private beta through their account managers. Organizations new to Alation can explore the CDE Manager product page or review implementation best practices through the company's webinar series featuring case studies from organizations like Aware Super.