A modern data platform ensures that the data present in your source systems is stored in your own cloud environment & processed into data products relevant to your organization. Of course, this should be done in a controlled and secure manner.
Despite the fact that the exact appearance of a modern data platform varies from case to case, such a platform often consists of the following components:
- Data Integration
- Data Storage
- Data Processing
- Data Analysis & Usage
- Data Security & Governance
What the “inside” of a data platform looks like is often described in a data architecture. A term previously commonly used to describe part of the operation of a data platform is “data warehouse. However, a modern data platform does more. A modern data platform may well include a data warehouse.
When modern?
Not all data platforms are modern. We recognize – in outline – the following characteristics that distinguish a modern data platform from a traditional data platform:
- ‘Unlimited’ scale: modern data platforms decouple data processing from data storage, allowing them – if properly set up – to scale infinitely.
- Unstructured data: in addition to structured data, a modern data platform can also handle large amounts of unstructured or semi-structured data such as e.g. images. Often a ‘data lake‘ is often used for this purpose.
- Real-time data operation: use cases requiring real-time data processing & storage are a perfect fit for a modern data platform.
- Cloud-native: a modern data platform is made for the cloud with services that you purchase as a service and thus charge for what you actually use.
Commonly used cloud services
are AWS, Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure. - Automated: 100% automation ensures that a modern data platform can be deployed quickly and new test or production environments can be created at the push of a button.
- Flexibility: source systems & data models change and a modern data platform can deal with them more easily.
Another feature is that both data analysis and data science applications can be housed in a modern data platform.
In summary, a modern data platform can better handle today’s data challenges & organization. This requires flexibility & scale, which is why these platforms often use cloud services.
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