Cloudera Adopts Apache Polaris to Advance Open, Governed Data Access for Enterprise AI Anywhere

Cloudera said it adopted Apache Polaris as part of an open data lakehouse architecture powered by Apache Iceberg. The company framed the change as a way to improve interoperability and governed access for data across environments.

The release tied the move to challenges it described around data access and governance, including fragmented data estates and governance complexity. It cited a Data Readiness Index 2026 stating that 79% of organizations said their data-backed initiatives were hindered because they could not access 100% of the data they needed across environments, and 18% said their data was fully governed.

Apache Polaris, the release said, is an open source catalog built around the Apache Iceberg REST Catalog specification. It said the integration aimed to support governed access to enterprise data for AI and analytics and to reduce data movement and duplication while improving interoperability across modern data ecosystems.

Cloudera also contributed a new Apache Ranger authorizer plugin as an external authorizer (Beta) in Apache Polaris 1.5, adding centralized security and policy management for data. “Enterprises need the freedom to run analytics and AI wherever it makes sense for the business, without moving data or compromising governance,” said Leo Brunnick, Chief Product Officer at Cloudera. “By adopting Apache Polaris, Cloudera is extending our open data strategy to help customers securely bring AI to their data anywhere it lives. Cloudera’s adoption and contribution to the project reflects a shared commitment to giving enterprises greater flexibility, governance, and choice across their data ecosystems.”