ISO/IEC 25642:2025 PDF

Overview

ISO/IEC 25642:2025 - Information technology - Data governance - Data collaboration framework defines minimum recommendations for zero-copy data integration and modular data capabilities inside a controlled data management environment. The standard describes a blueprint for IT and organizational leaders to build new digital solutions that reuse the same physical data across multiple data models while enforcing granular, universally applied access controls. It targets all sectors (public, private, government, not‑for‑profit) and is intended for data‑intensive roles; it is not a specification of system interfaces nor a definition of who legally owns data within an organization.

Key topics and technical requirements

• Zero-copy data integration: Emphasizes access-based collaboration instead of copying data into application-specific silos.
• Decouple data from applications: Design data architectures so applications consume shared data rather than creating new isolated databases.
• Data-as-a-product: Govern and manage data through defined data products, data domains, and stewards to assign responsibilities and quality requirements.
• Metadata-layer controls: Enforce access, protection and policy at the metadata level (not in application code), enabling uniform controls across consumers.
• Metadata-driven experiences: Use metadata to drive application behavior, access enforcement, versioning, lineage, and recoverability.
• Enterprise composability and modularity: Build modular capabilities that can operate standalone or be combined into advanced solutions.
• Operational governance mechanisms: Automate versioning, recoverability, lineage, and usage reporting to support auditability and compliance.
• Terminology and roles: Defines key terms such as data owner, data steward, data custodian, data domain, data product, and data schema.

Note: the standard does not cover data usage policies or AI-specific usage management (refer to ISO/IEC 5207 and ISO/IEC 5212).

Applications and practical value

• Accelerates digital transformation by reducing the integration overhead created by copy‑based architectures.
• Lowers compliance and privacy risk by centralizing access control and making deletion, portability, and auditability feasible.
• Supports cross‑functional collaboration (human-to-human, human-to-system, system-to-system), including scenarios involving multiple AI systems, without proliferating data copies.
• Applicable to initiatives such as open banking, smart cities, precision healthcare, and enterprise data platforms where data integrity, traceability, and reusable data models are needed.

Who should use this standard

• CIOs, data governance leads, enterprise architects, data engineers, and data stewards building or governing data-intensive systems.
• Organizations seeking to eliminate data silos, enforce consistent access controls, and enable composable data-driven solutions.

Related standards

• ISO/IEC 38500 (IT governance)
• ISO/IEC 38505‑1 (data governance for IT)
• ISO/IEC 5207 and ISO/IEC 5212 (guidance on data usage and AI-related data usage management)

Keywords: ISO/IEC 25642:2025, data governance, data collaboration framework, zero-copy data integration, metadata controls, data products, data domains, enterprise composability, data silos.