What enables tracking of origin and movement of data in Data Cloud?

• A. A data catalog tracks lineage, schemas, owners, and stewardship.
• B. Encryption keys.
• C. File naming conventions.
• D. Retention policy.

Answer: (A)

The main idea is tracking data provenance and flow using metadata management. A data catalog is designed to hold metadata about data assets, including where data came from, how it’s transformed, and who is responsible for it. By capturing lineage information, it links sources, intermediate steps, and final destinations, creating a map of data movement across the Data Cloud. This enables you to trace an item back to its origin, understand the transformations it underwent, and see governance details like owners and stewards, which is essential for auditing and impact analysis.

Encryption keys protect data security but don’t provide provenance or movement visibility. File naming conventions help with readability but don’t automatically capture the lineage of data. Retention policies govern how long data is kept and when it’s deleted, not where it originated or how it moved.