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Product development strategy and design partnerships

This FAQ answers common questions about how Atlan approaches product development and how you can work with Atlan as a design partner.

How does Atlan think about product development and partnerships?​

Atlan focuses on being a partner, not a vendor. This partnership mindset applies across the company, from sales and customer success to how product and engineering teams build and ship new functionality.

The goal is to solve meaningful business problems together, not just ship features. Atlan emphasizes long-term value, rapid feedback loops, and close collaboration with customers.

How can I partner with Atlan on new product development?​

Atlan works closely with all customers and partners to identify and validate high-impact problem areas.

To explore a potential design partnership:

  • Engage with your Customer Success Manager (CSM) to share the problems you are trying to solve.
  • Work together to define clear problem statements and success criteria.
  • Align on timelines, stakeholders, and how you provide feedback during the process.

Your CSM is your primary point of contact to initiate deeper collaboration with Atlan's product and engineering teams.

What does a design partnership process typically look like?​

Atlan's product and engineering teams focus on partnership-driven validation of problem statements and solution approaches.

During a design partnership:

  • Atlan and your team co-define the problem and desired outcomes.
  • Product and engineering teams embed with your workflows to understand real-world usage.
  • You participate in reviews of early concepts, prototypes, and preview features.

The goal is to move from idea to user validation in 1–2 weeks wherever possible, enabling fast learning and iteration for both teams.

Does Atlan build specific features that I request?​

Not necessarily. Atlan prioritizes solving the biggest value drivers for long-term success, which may differ from an individual feature request.

This can mean:

  • Not building a specific feature if it doesn't align with broader patterns or long-term value.
  • Investing instead in capabilities that solve a class of problems for many customers.
  • Discovering together that no new product functionality is required and that the problem can be solved through a different approach.

The focus is on outcomes and impact, not a one-to-one mapping of requests to features.

Can Atlan change features that my team already uses?​

Atlan ships new functionality through a set of product release stages. Some capabilities go directly to general availability (GA), while others go through extended private previews with design partners.

During preview stages:

  • Functionality may change significantly as Atlan and design partners learn what delivers the most value.
  • Experimental modules or workflows may be redesigned or reoriented based on feedback.

Once a capability reaches GA, it's very unlikely to be deprecated. Changes at that stage focus on improvements, not fundamental removals.

How does pricing work for preview or design partner functionality?​

Pricing for preview features varies by capability, but Atlan generally doesn't charge for preview functionality.

As part of the discovery, research, and build process:

  • Atlan and your team discuss the business value of what's being built.
  • Both teams align on how the capability might be priced if and when it reaches a more mature state.
  • You get early access to new capabilities in exchange for your time, feedback, and partnership.

Any formal pricing is agreed only when a capability is ready for broader rollout.