Databricks announced it is open-sourcing its Unity Catalog, the industry’s first unified governance solution for data and artificial intelligence (AI) that works across clouds and data platforms. By open-sourcing Unity Catalog, the company aims to establish an open standard for interoperable data and AI governance.

Unity Catalog OSS offers a universal interface supporting multiple data formats and compute engines. It enables unified governance across tabular data, unstructured data, and AI assets like machine learning models. With open APIs and an Apache 2.0 licensed open-source server, it provides flexibility and avoids vendor lock-in.

“Our customers love Unity Catalog because it streamlines data access and governance at scale,” said Ali Ghodsi, CEO at Databricks. “We’re excited to open source Unity Catalog to drive the industry forward to an open standard for data and AI governance that gives customers openness and flexibility.”

Key features of Unity Catalog OSS include:
Interoperability across data formats, compute engines, and platforms.
Unified governance for all data and AI assets
Open architecture to maximise customer flexibility and choice

Several partners, including AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft, Salesforce, Confluent, dbt Labs, Immuta, Informatica, and Unstructured, expressed support for Unity Catalog OSS. They praised Databricks’ move as enabling greater customer flexibility and aligning with open ecosystem principles.

“AWS welcomes Databricks’ move to open source Unity Catalog. AWS is committed to working with the industry on open-source solutions that enable choice and interoperability for customers,” said Chris Grusz, managing director of technology partnerships at AWS.

Customers like AT&T, Nasdaq, and Rivian also welcomed the news, stating it will help eliminate data silos, scale platforms, and enable working across data without vendor lock-in concerns.

Unity Catalog OSS will be available in public preview in Q3 2024. To learn more, visit the Databricks website or attend the Data + AI Summit on June 26-29. Click here to watch the keynote. 

Databricks helps organisations take control of their data with its unified data and AI platform, which is used by over 10,000 customers. Headquartered in San Francisco, Databricks was founded by the original creators of Apache Spark, Delta Lake, and MLflow.

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