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Context layer
Context Drift Is the Silent Failure Mode for Your AI Model Layer
Context drift causes AI agents to reason over stale definitions with no error signal. Learn the three root patterns and how Atlan's context lineage detects…
Atlan staff
Heather Devane
Lead Content Strategist
Heather Devane is Lead Content Strategist at Atlan, where she leads editorial strategy on enterprise AI and the role of context in trustworthy AI systems. With 13+ years in B2B and B2C brand and content marketing — including building a content and brand practice from the ground up at Immuta, where she published 8+ industry research reports and books — she writes on the context layer, enterprise AI, and the trends shaping the data industry.
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About Heather.
Heather Devane is Lead Content Strategist at Atlan, where she drives editorial strategy at the intersection of enterprise AI and the evolving role of context in trustworthy AI systems. With 13+ years in B2B and B2C marketing, Heather has led brand programs across the data governance, talent optimization, and consumer goods industries. At Immuta, she built a content and brand practice from the ground up, publishing 8+ industry research reports and books. Earlier roles at The Predictive Index and The Boston Beer Company sharpened her instincts for market positioning, partnership strategy, and audience-first storytelling.
Heather holds a journalism degree from Northwestern University and a HarvardX certificate in rhetoric and persuasive communication. She lives outside Boston with her husband, and spends her free time running, reading, or exploring the outdoors.
Press, talks & code
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Recent articles by Heather Devane.
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- 02Data Governance
Who Owns the Context Layer?
The context layer is owned by the data platform team in centralized orgs or domain teams in federated architectures. Learn how to choose the right…
- 03Data Governance
What Is Context Layer ROI? A Guide for Data Leaders
Understand context layer ROI: how to measure AI accuracy gains, metadata coverage, and time-to-insight savings across a governed data foundation.
- 04Semantic Layer
How to Build an AI-Ready Semantic Layer
AI understands language but not your business. Build a semantic layer with machine-readable context, universal definitions, and human feedback loops.
- 05Data & AI Governance
What the Most Asked Questions at Atlan Activate 2026 Tell Us About Enterprise AI
Nearly 200 questions at Atlan Activate 2026 converged on the same themes. Here's what the most-asked reveal about where enterprise AI gets stuck.
- 06Context Engineering
How Much Context Is Enough? A Framework for Scaling AI Context
More context does not fix AI agents — the right context does. Use this 3-axis framework to scale AI context without accumulating context debt.
- 07Data Catalog
What Is Conversational Search for Enterprise Data?
Conversational search lets your team query enterprise data in plain language, no SQL required. Learn how it works, what makes it fail, and how to…
- 08Context Engineering
2026 Is the Year of Context Engines: The Enterprise Shift
2026 is the year context engines become enterprise infrastructure. Learn what changed, what it means for AI architecture, and why governed context comes first.
- 09Context layer
Session Memory Resets. Context Graphs Are Enterprise Memory.
Context graphs, not bigger context windows or session memory, give enterprise AI agents the persistent semantic memory they need to answer correctly.
- 10Agentic AI and Multi-Agent Systems
Multi-Agent Scaling: Why Context-Free Agents Create Scale Hell
Multi-agent scaling breaks when agents share no context. Understand the root causes of coordination failure and how to build context infrastructure that holds.
- 11Enterprise AI Agent Deployment
Why AI Agents Get Stuck in POC Testing Hell (And How to Escape)
88% of AI agent pilots never reach production. The root cause isn't the model — it's missing data context. Learn the 5 failure modes and…
- 12Data Observability
Top 14 Data Observability Tools in 2026: Features, Pricing, and Selection Guide
Compare 14 data observability tools that tell you why an AI agent answer drifted and which upstream pipeline signal to fix first.
Transparency
Editorial relationship
Atlan staff byline
Heather is a member of the Atlan team. Articles published under her byline reflect her own analysis and expertise; Atlan's editorial team works with her on structure and clarity but does not author content attributed to her. She reviews and approves every piece published under her byline before publication. Publications listed here are from prior roles and are independent of Atlan's editorial process.
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