The Rise of the Data Catalyst: Bridging Business and Data with Latttice
Why the future of data-driven organizations depends on the people who connect business priorities with technical capabilities, and how Latttice powers this transformation.
Data Tiles Ltd | All Rights Reserved | 2026
Foreword
By Cameron Price, Founder, Data Tiles
For years, I've watched organizations pour time and money into solving their data challenges. Data warehouses, lakes, fabrics, meshes, the labels change, but the business complaint is always the same: "We can't get to the data we need, when we need it."
Technology alone has never solved this. What makes the difference are the people inside organizations who refuse to accept the disconnect, the champions who push for data to serve business outcomes. At Data Tiles, we call them Data Catalysts.
This book is about them. It's about how to identify and empower them, and how platforms like Latttice can amplify their impact, turning the bridge between business and data from a fragile rope to a reinforced highway.
Data Tiles Ltd | All Rights Reserved | 2026
Introduction: The Data Divide
Data is the fuel of modern business, yet most organizations struggle to use it effectively. Industry reports paint a stark picture: 70% of AI/analytics projects fail to deliver ROI (McKinsey, Gartner).
Business sees data as too slow, IT sees business as demanding and inconsistent. Without translation, trust breaks down.
Enter the Data Catalyst — the human bridge.
Business Teams
- Need decisions fast
- Frustrated by delays
- Unclear on technical constraints
Data Teams
- Overwhelmed by requests
- Lack business context
- Struggle with priorities
The gap between these teams creates friction, delays, and ultimately, failed activities. The Data Catalyst stands in this gap, with Latttice as the underlying bridge that makes their work possible.
Data Tiles Ltd | All Rights Reserved | 2026
Who is the Data Catalyst?
Not a new hire, often someone already in your business who naturally champions data. Acts as translator, advocate, and connector. Understands business priorities and has enough data literacy to guide technical alignment.
Curiosity
Always asking "why" and "what if"
Communication
Speaks both business and technical languages
Credibility
Trusted by both sides of the divide
Empowerment Mindset
Enables others rather than hoarding knowledge
"The Data Catalyst doesn't just deliver reports, they create trust, alignment, and speed between business and data."
Data Tiles Ltd | All Rights Reserved | 2026
Why Organizations Need Data Catalysts Now
The world of AI and zero-code has shifted the bottleneck: access is no longer the problem, use and alignment are. Without a Catalyst, democratization risks chaos (different definitions, no governance). With one, democratization means empowerment.
Reduces Cost
Eliminates redundant work and wasted resources
Accelerates Insights
Cuts time-to-value from months to days
Ensures Business Value
Aligns data work with strategic priorities
The role reduces cost, accelerates time-to-decision, and ensures business value. Where every organization claims to be "data-driven", the Data Catalyst is what actually makes that vision real.
Data Tiles Ltd | All Rights Reserved | 2026
The Challenges of the Traditional Divide
Without a Data Catalyst, organizations face predictable and costly challenges that undermine their data initiatives:
Misaligned goals
"IT projects" vs "business projects", teams working at cross purposes with different success metrics
Slow time to decisions
Months for data, by the time data arrives, business needs have changed
Overburdened data engineers
Technical teams drowning in requests, unable to focus on strategic work
Siloed data, inconsistent KPIs
Different departments using different definitions, making collaboration impossible
Loss of trust in analytics
When data doesn't deliver, business leaders stop believing in its value
These pain points compound over time, creating a vicious cycle where data becomes less trusted and less used, even as organizations invest more heavily in data infrastructure.
Data Tiles Ltd | All Rights Reserved | 2026
The Skills and Mindset of a Data Catalyst
The Data Catalyst embodies a unique combination of skills that bridge technical and business domains:
Translator
Converts business needs into data requirements and technical capabilities into business opportunities.
Advocate
Champions data use in decision-making, demonstrating value and building organizational buy-in
Coach
Enables business users to self-serve, building capability rather than dependency
Guardian
Ensures governance and quality aren't lost in the rush to democratize data access
Innovator
Brings AI and new approaches into business conversations, keeping the organization at the cutting edge
Data Tiles Ltd | All Rights Reserved | 2026
Scenarios: Data Catalysts in Action
Real-world examples demonstrate how Data Catalysts transform organizational data capabilities:
Marketing
Data Catalyst sets up Latttice to let marketers create campaign data products in minutes, cutting wait times from 6 weeks to same-day insights.
Finance
Catalyst uses Latttice's row-level access controls to enable sensitive forecasting data access without breaching compliance.
Operations
Catalyst oversees a cross-domain data product built in Latttice to optimize supply chain bottlenecks.
Before
- 6+ week wait for data
- Compliance concerns block access
- Siloed data prevents optimization
- Business teams frustrated
After
- Same-day data products
- Secure, governed access
- Cross-functional collaboration
- Empowered decision-makers
Data Tiles Ltd | All Rights Reserved | 2026
Technology as the Enabler: Latttice as the Bridge
The human bridge (Data Catalyst) + the technical bridge (Latttice) = sustainable data success.
Latttice offers:
Zero-code data product creation
Empowers business users to build without technical bottlenecks
AI-powered Copilot
Natural-language data operations make decisions available to everyone
Fine-grained governance
RBAC, ABAC, FGA, and PBAC to ensure security without sacrificing accessibility
Unified access
Structured & unstructured data in one platform
Marketplace
Share and reuse data products across the organization
The Data Catalyst stands between Business and Data Teams, but with Latttice drawn as the strong foundation beneath, enabling their work and amplifying their impact.
Data Tiles Ltd | All Rights Reserved | 2026
Building the Role, Avoiding Pitfalls, and Measuring Success
Building the Role in Your Organization
Identify candidates (often analysts, ops leads, or data-savvy managers). Empower them: training, access to tools like Latttice, visible executive support. Give them a mandate: align business and data priorities, champion governance, enable domain teams. Measure their success not in technical outputs, but in business outcomes delivered through data.
Pitfalls to Avoid
- Overloading the Catalyst → make them enabler, not bottleneck.
- Ignoring governance → democratization without rules = chaos.
- Treating Catalyst as "just another analyst."
- Forgetting culture → the Catalyst thrives only if the org values data.
Measuring Success
75%
Reduction in time-to-decision
From months to minutes
3x
Increase in self-service
More users accessing data independently
85%
Higher adoption
Data products actively used
92%
Business satisfaction
Positive feedback on data delivery
Conclusion: The Future of the Data Catalyst
The next generation of data-driven organizations will succeed not through tech alone, but through people empowered by the right tools. The Data Catalyst is the human force of change; Latttice is the technical enabler. Together, they turn the promise of Data Mesh and AI from theory into business reality.
Call to Action: Empower your Data Catalyst. Explore how Latttice can strengthen the bridge between your business and data.
Data Tiles Ltd | All Rights Reserved | 2026