Data Discovery Agent

Data Discovery & Metadata Intelligence

Accelerate data readiness with a Watsonx Orchestrate based Data Discovery Agent that automates profiling, semantic analysis, metadata generation, and data-quality assessment across enterprise datasets.

From raw structured files to standardized metadata contracts, the agent helps organizations rapidly prepare trusted data for analytics, governance, and AI initiatives.

Key Outcomes

  • Faster metadata onboarding
  • Automated schema profiling
  • Intelligent semantic classification
  • Data quality visibility
  • Governance-ready metadata
  • AI and analytics readiness

Why Organizations Need a Data Discovery Agent

Modern enterprises manage thousands of datasets spread across cloud storage, data lakes, warehouses, and operational systems. Manual discovery and documentation slow down analytics and increase governance risks.

The Watsonx Orchestrate Data Discovery Agent helps organizations:

  • Reduce manual profiling effort
  • Standardize metadata creation
  • Detect quality risks earlier
  • Accelerate AI and BI projects
  • Improve downstream data trust

Core Capabilities

Repository File & Metadata Discovery

The agent scans repositories and reads metadata such as:

  • File names
  • Dataset locations
  • File formats
  • URLs
  • Timestamps
  • Size information
User May Ask…
  • “What files exist in the Brazilian E‑Commerce Public Dataset?”
  • “Which datasets were updated this week?”
  • “List all CSV files available for analytics.”

Structured Data Profiling

Automatically profiles CSV and parquet datasets to generate:

  • Schema information
  • Inferred data types
  • Null percentages
  • Distinct counts
  • Sample values
  • Row-level statistics
User May Ask…
  • “Show schema details for olist_customers_dataset.csv.”
  • “Which columns have high null values?”
  • “Generate profiling statistics for customer data.”

Semantic Intelligence & Business Context

The agent applies semantic analysis to infer likely business meanings of columns and tables.

Detects

  • Identifiers
  • Measures
  • Dimensions
  • Time attributes
  • Reference fields
  • Transactional entities
User May Ask…
  • “Which columns appear to be customer identifiers?”
  • “What fields look like business measures?”
  • “Identify timestamp-based columns.”

Heuristic Rule Detection

Applies deterministic rules and intelligent heuristics to identify:

  • Candidate primary keys
  • Foreign-key relationships
  • Cardinality patterns
  • Duplicate risks
  • Data-quality issues
User May Ask…
  • “Are there any candidate primary keys?”
  • “Which columns have unusually high cardinality?”
  • “Identify potential referential integrity issues.”

Standardized Metadata Generation

The agent consolidates profiling, semantic, and heuristic insights into a standardized metadata contract for downstream systems.

Metadata Package Includes

  • Schema definitions
  • Business classifications
  • Quality indicators
  • Key recommendations
  • Readiness scores
User May Ask…
  • “Generate the metadata package for olist_orders_dataset.”
  • “Export metadata for governance onboarding.”

End-to-End Discovery Pipeline

Run the complete discovery lifecycle in a single orchestration flow.

Discovery Pipeline

Repository Scan
      ↓
Metadata Extraction
      ↓
Schema Profiling
      ↓
Semantic Classification
      ↓
Heuristic Validation
      ↓
Metadata Standardization
      ↓
Readiness Assessment
User May Ask…
  • “Run a complete discovery analysis on Olist Orders records.”
  • “Generate readiness summary for analytics onboarding.”

Dataset Catalog Guidance

The agent provides visibility into supported datasets and readiness levels.

Supports

  • Sample datasets
  • Enterprise repositories
  • Structured analytics files
  • Governance onboarding workflows
User May Ask…
  • “Which datasets are fully supported?”
  • “What datasets are ready for AI consumption?”

Intelligent Recommendations & Next Steps

Based on profiling outcomes, the agent recommends:

  • Data-quality remediation
  • Cleansing opportunities
  • Governance actions
  • Analytics readiness improvements
  • Local exploration guidance
User May Ask…
  • “How should I handle high-null columns?”
  • “What fixes improve downstream AI readiness?”
  • “Which datasets require governance review?”

With Cognos Partners, you gain more than a Data Discovery Agent — you gain an intelligent enterprise partner that accelerates metadata readiness, simplifies data understanding, and helps modernize your organization’s data and analytics ecosystem.