Manage your data assets

A Data asset is an asset represented by a set of data contained in an object. An object can be a database table, a view, a file, an image, etc. A Data asset contains attributes that characterize it.

Each Data asset is associated with an application. It can also be associated to one or more concepts. See the page "Concepts" for more details.

An example of a Data asset is a table containing the patients' information.


A data asset is the third level of the hierarchy in sidecar

A data asset can be enriched with the following information:

  • Technical name: the technical name is populated automatically. It is not possible to edit this field.

  • Business name : the name of the data asset will be displayed in most of the screens. For a better user experience, it's important choose an explicite nam that is self-explanatory and not too long. The maximum number of characters for the name is 100,

  • Description: You can provide a very detailed description of the data asset, this text box is limited to 8000 characters.

  • Privacy level : You can define a privacy level for each attribute. Please visit the Privacy levels page for more information on how to use it and customize it.

  • Related concepts

  • Stakeholders: one stakeholder can be specified for an application.

    • A subject matter expert is the person that has extensive functional knowledge and expertise on the topic.

  • Type of data assets: Defines the nature of the asset catalogued, It can be a table, a view, a json file, an image, etc. Please visit the "Asset types" page for more information.

  • Server name: The name of the server hosting the data asset.

  • Database name: The name of the database hosting the data asset.

  • Schema name: The name of the schema hosting the data asset.

  • Status: Four types of status are available:

    • Active: the data asset is currently in use.

    • Draft: the data asset is visible in sidecar but indicates to the users that the information associated is currently being reviewed or worked on.

    • Deprecated: the data asset is visible in sidecar but indicates to the users that this application and all its data assets & attributes are not used any longer in the institution.

    • Hidden : the data asset is not visible by business users

Tip: A complete description of every field is available in sidecar, just search for the application "sidecar" and you will have all the definitions, data types and the length of each field.

Create a data asset

Data assets can be added only through the "Data asset discovery" capabilities. It is not possible to create a data asset manually.

Please visit the Data asset discovery page to learn more about identifying new data assets.

Modify a data asset

When an application is modified it will not impact the data assets or attributes associated, the links will remain.

Delete a data asset

If a data asset is no longer relevant, you can always delete it.

In the data asset detail view, simply click on the delete icon (garbage).

The data asset will be deleted with all their attributes.


Restore a data asset

If you need to restore a deleted data asset, please contact your sidecar administrator.

See the following section for the detailled procedure : Restore procedure