When to use data contracts

Now we have a good understanding of what data contracts are and how they solve the problems we saw in Chapter 1, A Brief History of Data Platforms, how do we know when is a good time to adopt data contracts in an organization?

Firstly, it depends on how your organization is using or wants to use its data. As discussed in the previous chapter, many organizations are starting to use data in more business-critical processes or in products they build for their customers. The ability to build these products quickly and effectively depends on the accessibility of easy-to-use, quality data, and data contracts help with the production of that data.

Then, once these data-driven applications are released, data contracts help ensure they stay performant and dependable by tracking the SLOs of the data and managing the evolution of that data, preventing breaking changes that impact downstream consumers.

Even if your organization is not ready to use data for critical...