diff --git a/lib/get-applicable-versions.js b/lib/get-applicable-versions.js
index b9aefd73ca3f..4cbb970446a6 100644
--- a/lib/get-applicable-versions.js
+++ b/lib/get-applicable-versions.js
@@ -9,10 +9,7 @@ import encodeBracketedParentheses from './encode-bracketed-parentheses.js'
 const __dirname = path.dirname(fileURLToPath(import.meta.url))
 const featuresDir = path.posix.join(__dirname, '../data/features')
 
-const featureData = dataDirectory(featuresDir, {
-  preprocess: (dataString) => encodeBracketedParentheses(dataString.trimEnd()),
-  ignorePatterns: [/README\.md$/],
-})
+let featureData = null
 
 // return an array of versions that an article's product versions encompasses
 function getApplicableVersions(frontmatterVersions, filepath) {
@@ -25,6 +22,13 @@ function getApplicableVersions(frontmatterVersions, filepath) {
     return Object.keys(allVersions)
   }
 
+  if (!featureData) {
+    featureData = dataDirectory(featuresDir, {
+      preprocess: (dataString) => encodeBracketedParentheses(dataString.trimEnd()),
+      ignorePatterns: [/README\.md$/],
+    })
+  }
+
   // Check for frontmatter that includes a feature name, like:
   //    fpt: '*'
   //    feature: 'foo'