Classifications

Describe how sensitive your data is with classification schemes and levels, derived automatically and shown as badges across the platform.

Classifications let you define one or more schemes (for example a confidentiality scheme with the levels Public, Internal, Restricted, and Sensitive). Each scheme holds an ordered set of levels. Classifications are derived from a data product's output-port data contracts and its linked semantic concepts, surface as badges on data products, and can be used to filter the data product list.

Schemes and Levels

Classifications are managed under Governance > Classifications. The page lists each scheme with its levels. A scheme whose custom property is classification is serialized to the standard classification field.

Classification Scheme

A scheme groups related levels and controls how they are serialized.

• Name: The display name of the scheme (e.g. "Confidentiality").
• ID: A canonical key auto-generated from the name (e.g. confidentiality). It is used in the serialized custom-property name (classification.<id>) and is immutable after creation.
• Description: Optional. Explains what the scheme classifies and how its levels are meant to be used.
• Custom Property: The property this scheme is serialized to. Use classification for the standard ODCS/ODPS classification field. Leave it blank to derive classification.<id>.
• Show on data product list: When enabled, this scheme's badge is shown on the data product list and a matching filter appears.

Classification Level

Each level is one value within a scheme.

• Name: The display name of the level (e.g. "Sensitive"). This is also the value written into data contracts and concepts.
• Level: A numeric sensitivity rank. A higher number is more sensitive and wins when a data product carries several levels.
• Description: What this level means.
• Criteria: Markdown describing the handling rules for data at this level.
• Color and Icon: Control how the badge looks.

How Classifications Are Derived

A data product does not store a classification directly. Instead, the effective classification per scheme is derived from:

• The output-port data contracts of the data product (these contribute via the standard classification field, so only to the scheme mapped to it).
• The data product's linked semantic concepts (these contribute to every scheme, via each scheme's custom property).

When several sources contribute different levels, the most sensitive level wins and is shown on the badge. A +N hint indicates how many other distinct levels are present.

You can override the derived value per data product in the data product editor. Each scheme offers an Auto option (the derived value) plus the explicit levels; choosing a level pins it regardless of the sources.

On the Data Product List

When a scheme has Show on data product list enabled, two things happen on the marketplace data product list:

• The data product shows the scheme's badge with its effective (most sensitive) level.

• A Classification filter appears (one per flagged scheme, after the Certification filter). The options are the scheme's levels plus "Not set".

The filter matches a data product if any level it carries is selected, not only the effective one shown on the badge. For example, a product whose badge shows Sensitive but that also carries Restricted will appear when you filter for Restricted.

Serialization

The value stored everywhere is the level's display name (e.g. Sensitive).

Where a scheme is serialized depends on its Custom Property:

• A scheme whose custom property is classification serializes to the standard classification field in ODCS data contracts and ODPS data products.
• Any other scheme serializes to its custom property (by default classification.<id>), written as ODCS column customProperties and ODPS customProperties.

This keeps schemes mapped to the standard classification field compatible with the open standards while allowing additional schemes alongside them.

Permissions

Managing classification schemes and levels (creating, editing, deleting) is restricted to governance group members and organization owners. Anyone who can view a data product sees its classification badges, and anyone can open a level's read-only details page.

For more details on roles and permissions, see Roles & Permissions.