datannur is an open-source project developed in Switzerland to make data governance more accessible. It is intended for organizations that want to better structure their data, as well as the partners who support them.
datannur is developed and maintained by its founder, Bassim Matar. The project stems from direct experience of the challenges of managing, structuring, and documenting data in the public sector, at the intersection of software development and business needs.
Its starting point is simple: in environments where needs are real, the usual conditions for deploying IT solutions often make this type of tool difficult to implement. Long cycles, technical complexity, high costs, and strong dependence on major IT projects hinder the emergence of solutions that are nevertheless useful for business needs. datannur was designed to enable faster progress, with a lightweight, portable tool that can be used without prior dedicated infrastructure.
Today, it has been used in production for more than two years in a cantonal statistical office.
datannur was designed as an alternative to solutions that are too heavy, too expensive, or too closed. The project is based on a lightweight, modular approach: a portable interface for the catalog, a separate module for data ingestion, reusable metadata, and the ability to adapt to a variety of contexts without complex infrastructure.
This approach enables organizations to retain control over their metadata, their uses, and their confidentiality requirements, while relying on a tool they can understand, use, and evolve over time.
datannur follows a publisher model supported by a network of partners. Partners—consultants, GDPR experts, integrators, IT service providers—use the tool in their assignments and can then pass it on to their clients as a governance foundation.
In this model, roles are complementary: partners provide business support, while the publisher ensures continuity, reliability, and product evolution. datannur’s ambition is to make data governance more accessible to organizations that are still poorly equipped today—public administrations, SMEs, NGOs, universities, laboratories—by being part of a sustainable partner ecosystem, first in Switzerland and then beyond.