Nikos Balanis

Organisations are increasingly striving to make data accessible to everyone, yet many remain constrained by fragmented systems, inconsistent governance, and dependence on central data teams. This session explores a modern data architecture that unifies data democratisation, automated governance, and scalable self-service to accelerate business value while maintaining control. Attendees will learn how domain-driven ownership, platform-embedded governance, and data product thinking can create an ecosystem where users can easily discover, understand, and consume trusted data. The session introduces a practical reference architecture featuring semantic models, data catalogues, lineage, policy automation, and governed data marketplaces that reduce friction without compromising security, compliance, or auditability. Drawing on real-world implementation experience, it demonstrates how organisations can transition from centralised control to federated, trust-based operating models through incremental adoption and strong cross-functional collaboration. By the end, participants will have a clear blueprint for building a modern data platform that enables organisation-wide self-service, embeds governance into the technology layer, and empowers teams to make faster, better-informed decisions