5 What existing investments contribute - and what remains
Data catalogs help people find information. Data-quality processes test values. Lineage systems show where data moved. Semantic layers support consistent measures. AI platforms generate recommendations or carry out actions. Logs show what a system did. Governance teams establish policies and accountability.
Each is valuable. None alone necessarily demonstrates that a particular decision was justified in using particular information under the conditions that existed at the time. DACS helps connect the available capabilities and their recorded evidence to that specific question.
NO PLATFORM REPLACEMENT
A DACS First Look can use existing reports, governance materials, approvals, logs, and manual evidence capture. It does not require a new vendor, a physical data model, an enterprise-wide ontology, or migration of the technology stack.
Where relevant, vendors may be asked to demonstrate whether their products can produce, retain, exchange, or enforce the required evidence. That is a request for capabilities tied to the selected decision - not a vendor certification claim.