Estaba leyendo un artículo escrito por Jeff Wilts y recomendado por Bill Inmon. Llegué a esta afirmación: «Teradata es un almacén de datos empresarial con todas las funciones». Para mí, la cosa fue aún más cuesta abajo a partir de ahí.
Pero esto fue el golpe de gracia: «Databricks es una plataforma de datos unificada que puede comportarse como un almacén de datos».
Hold this thought: To paraphrase the great Bob Hoffman,just when you think that if the Big Data babblers were to generate one more ounce of bull**** the entire f****** solar system would explode, what do they do? Exceed expectations.
I am a mild mannered person. However, one thing that irks me is hearing variations on certain themes. These themes include phrases like “Data Warehousing is Big Data.” Another is “Big data is in many ways an evolution of data warehousing.” Lastly, some say “with Big Data you no longer need a Data Warehouse.”
Big Data is not Data Warehousing. It is not the evolution of Data Warehousing. It is also not a sensible and coherent alternative to Data Warehousing. No matter what certain vendors will put in their marketing brochures or stick up their noses.
A quiet disquiet has settled over the once-confident corridors of enterprise data. What was, not so long ago, regarded as a rigorous and rather specialised craft, data warehousing and business intelligence, now frequently presents itself in a more casual, even improvisational guise. A growing number of senior executives, technology directors and indeed practitioners themselves confess to a mounting discomfort with the quality, and at times the sheer quantity, of self-proclaimed experts who populate the field.
The data warehouse has undergone a profound transformation over the past decade. Expensive, rigid, on-premises systems were once built for batch reporting. These systems have now evolved into cloud-native, highly scalable platforms. They are designed to meet the demands of today’s data-driven organisations.
“I was a fool and what i’ve seen has made me two fools.”
Rafael Alberti, Spanish poet
Friends, Europeans, and fellow citizens, it’s time that we all spoke out against wrongdoing, criminality, and impunity. It’s time we took a stand against injustice wherever we find it. And it’s time to say that enough is enough.
Dud: Pete, did data exist before data warehousing?
Pete: Yes, and tea and hot water. And the only social media platform available to dizzy gobshites was the local boozer.
What on earth have you been listening to, Dud.
Dud: There was this prize eejit on an industry blog saying that data used to mean data warehouses but that it doesn’t anymore.
Pete: Oh, no. Insufferable countenance, Dud.
Dud: I can’t be having it.
Pete: Don’t give in, Dud. Stay and fight the good fight.
Dud: Fancy a beer?
Pete: Okay.
Dud: Here you go. Cheers!
Pete: So, cheers to that too. And now, where to begin? Ah, now I’ve got it.
The problem is, Dud, that many of these ill-informed blog jockeys think that data warehousing is like a car and that to improve it, you have to build a bigger and better car, or in other words, a bigger and better data warehouse.
Dud: Makes a lot of sense, Pete. But could we elaborate on that?
Pete: Look at it this way, Dud, we might buy a car because we want to impress our neighbours and friends, but the whole idea of getting a car is usually to have something that will help us to get from A to B and back again, safely, cost-effectively and without driving us insane.
The car is a significant part of the means, but there is much more to it.
Dud: I see.
Pete: The car is just part of the analogy, Dud. There is a whole raft of things that can be included in our journey from A to B, including the automotive technology used in the car; the streets, roads and highways; the bridges; the tunnels; the parking places; the fuel or energy; the driving skills; the rules, regulations and best principles; the Police; the guarantees; the training, coaching and continuous learning; the certification; the navigation system; the in-vehicle entertainment; the trailer, caravan or bike rack; the triangles, the yellow jacket and the warning lights you can place on the vehicle if it has broken down; the breakdown and recovery services; public healthy facilities; the hospitality outlets; the pedestrians; the other vehicle drivers; the other cars; livestock on the road; wild animals; the weather; rain, snow, ice and high winds; the gas stations or electric supply points; anti-freeze, oil and windscreen cleaner; and, the passive and active security. And that’s just off the top of my head.
Dud: So, it’s pretty comprehensive, Pete.
Pete: As it should be, Dud. Data Warehousing is about getting from A to B; it’s not just the car but everything that goes with it. Pretending otherwise is just perpetuating a stupid, vacuous and ignorant lie.
Dud: It also doesn’t consider our many options, depending on the circumstances. In the case of transport? Buses, trains, planes, boats, lifts, escalators, bicycles, electric and manual roller-blades, skateboards, motorbikes, horses, and just walking.
Pete: Well said, that man!
Martyn Jones, Santiago de Compostela, 17th October 2024.
Narrator: According to some data-mesh folk, data warehousing is “a data management construct that dates back to the eighties,” I have a problem with that. It’s as if that was somehow a bad thing. Is it? For me, that’s quite a weak argument that, in a way, treats people as if they were idiots.
It is like someone asking Newton, “So, Sir Isaac, you don’t still believe in that old gravity nonsense, do you?”
Data Warehousing provides possibly one of the best opportunities for IT organizations to deliver a valuable business solution in order to address a set of business needs; requirements that go well beyond the area of day to day operational support, and traditional applications (web enabled or not), and when Data Warehousing is done the right way, and for the right reasons, its payback to all of its stakeholders can be positively significant. Continue reading →
Every year I ask myself the same question. Will there be any tangible, coherent and verifiable Big Data success stories in the coming year? Every year I come up with nothing. Nothing at all. “Sorry, no rooms at the Big Data Success Inn, as we are closed for vacations.”
However, this year things are different. More positive, more alive and more fantastic. Continue reading →
Martyn Richard Jones
GOOD STRATEGY 