# data architecture

> framework for organizing and defining the interrelationships of data in support of an organization's missions, functions, goals, objectives, and strategies

**Wikidata**: [Q638422](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q638422)  
**Wikipedia**: [English](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Data_architecture)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/data-architecture

## Summary
Data architecture is the framework that organizes and defines how data interrelates to support an organization’s missions, functions, goals and strategies. It sits within the broader field of information technology architecture and is practiced by data architects.

## Key Facts
- Classified as a subclass of information technology architecture and an academic discipline/major.
- Has 12 Wikipedia language editions and is catalogued under Commons category “Data architecture”.
- Practiced by the specialist role “data architect”.
- Includes data governance as one of its component parts.
- Described in the glossary of the 2005 NARA publication “Information Management: Challenges in Managing and Preserving Electronic Records”, page 75.
- Freebase ID /m/0bgn3j recorded 28 Oct 2013.
- Microsoft Academic ID (now discontinued): 94070970.
- Dictionary of Archives Terminology entry: “data-architecture”.
- Japanese alias: データ仕組.
- Quora topic slug: Data-Architecture.

## FAQs
### Q: What does data architecture actually do for an organization?
A: It provides a blueprint that arranges data and its relationships so that every business mission, function, goal or strategy can be supported by reliable, well-structured information.

### Q: How is data architecture different from information technology architecture?
A: Data architecture is a specialized subset focused only on data organization and interrelationships, whereas information technology architecture covers the full spectrum of IT specifications, models and guidelines.

### Q: Who is responsible for building and maintaining data architecture?
A: Data architects are the professionals specifically trained to design, govern and evolve the organization’s data architecture.

### Q: Does data architecture include data governance?
A: Yes—data governance is explicitly listed as a component part of data architecture.

## Why It Matters
Without a coherent data architecture, organizations drown in duplicated, inconsistent or inaccessible information. The framework aligns data assets with strategic objectives, ensuring that every report, analytic model or customer-facing service rests on trustworthy, well-defined data. Because it is recognized as an academic discipline and taught as a university major, organizations can hire professionals who share common methods and vocabulary, reducing project risk. By embedding data governance inside the architecture, accountability and quality controls are designed in from the start rather than bolted on later. In short, data architecture turns raw data into a durable, strategic asset.

## Notable For
- One of the few IT specialties explicitly recognized as both an academic discipline and a university major.
- Serves as the data-specific layer inside the broader information-technology architecture family.
- Encompasses data governance by definition, integrating stewardship and quality rules into its core blueprint.
- Documented in archival science glossaries, showing relevance beyond pure IT into records-management and compliance fields.
- Covered in 12 Wikipedia languages, indicating global, cross-industry interest.

## Body
### Definition and Scope
Data architecture is the structured framework that organizes and defines the interrelationships of data in support of an organization’s missions, functions, goals, objectives and strategies. It is categorized as both an academic discipline and a university major, and is explicitly a subclass of information technology architecture.

### Position in IT Architecture
Within the methodical development of specifications, models and guidelines that constitute information technology architecture, data architecture narrows the focus to data assets. It therefore sits alongside other domain-specific architectures (network, application, security) while supplying the data foundation they share.

### Core Components
The only sub-component explicitly named in the source is data governance, indicating that policy, stewardship and quality controls are integral rather than external add-ons.

### Professional Practice
The field is practiced by data architects, a distinct role responsible for blueprinting, standardizing and evolving the organization’s data structures.

## References

1. [Source](https://lingualibre.fr/wiki/Q15348)
2. Freebase Data Dumps. 2013
3. Quora
4. [OpenAlex](https://docs.openalex.org/download-snapshot/snapshot-data-format)