A data catalog is specifically designed to help users:

Discover what data assets exist across the organization.

See metadata: table/field names, locations, owners, lineage, and usage.

Often search by keyword, tag, or business term.

Understand context, such as descriptions, classifications, and quality indicators.

This directly addresses the problem: employees have difficulty locating and understanding the current data assets.

Why other options are less suitable:

Data lake (A) – is a storage repository for large volumes of raw/varied data; it does not, by itself, solve discoverability and understanding.

Business glossary (B) – defines business terms and concepts (what “customer,” “order,” etc., mean), but does not by itself index all technical data assets and where they live.

Operational data store (D) – is used for integrated operational reporting, not as a metadata-driven search and discovery tool.

Thus, the best tool to solve locating and understanding data assets is a Data catalog (C).

CompTIA Data+ Reference (concept alignment):

DA0-001 Objectives – Data governance: tools such as data catalogs and business glossaries.

Study content explaining that a data catalog indexes and documents data assets and supports discoverability.