Data Platform

A self-serve data platform is one where its users can autonomously create, manage and consume data.

A data platform is one of those terms that can have a different meaning for different people.

The change of focus from accessibility to dependability is a business transformation, and like any transformation it is going to take some time.

Yesterday I wrote how data teams often start with accessibility, which helps you get started, but leads to a number of problems:

One of the benefits of data contracts is the amount of automation they unlock.

This could include platform capabilities such as:

How many times has your data team gone from centralised, to decentralised, and back to centralised again?

More than anything else, your success is determined by your communication.

That includes:

• Using different formats for different results (newsletters, workshops, tech talks, meetings, etc)
• Celebrating success, and admitting where you got things wrong
• Building relationships with people in different teams and roles
• Using the right language for the audience

You could have the best platform, but without communication your adoption of data contracts, or any transformation, will not be a success.

The goal of every data architecture has always been to provide accessible data to the organisation.

The whole point of enabling self-serve is autonomy.

It’s allowing others to do things you would usually have to do yourself, without you.

It’s a misconception that data contracts are just for tabular data.

Sure, they work really well for tabular data in a data warehouse, and that’s where many people start their implementation.