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.
You need not loathe Databricks outright. It is perfectly defensible if you do. This is particularly true when your principal objective is classical data warehousing. This includes structured BI reporting, dependable SQL analytics, and a governed single source of truth for business metrics. It also entails semantic clarity and predictable costs for read-heavy workloads.
There are solid, well-trodden reasons for that caveat. Many experienced data warehousing practitioners see Databricks as an awkward or even risky primary platform for traditional warehousing. This view is shared by some of the field’s foundational figures. The concern is not ideological. It is architectural. When used as a warehouse, Databricks often reproduces exactly the pathologies criticised in enterprise data programs. These include unnecessary complexity, misdirected effort, and the perennial executive question, “Which number should I trust?”
I would like to introduce you to a pragmatic approach to Big Data and Big Data Analytics. It is real-world focused and business-centric. This is the best approach to Big Data you are ever likely to find. Yet, I am still significantly understating the magnificent utility. It is also timely and has all the pertinent facets of the approach.
To paraphrase the great Bob Hoffman. Just when you feared that Agile evangelists might produce even more nonsense, they surprise you. What do they do? Exceed expectations.
And how did they do that? Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to Agile at Scale. It comes with all the miscellaneous, spiced-up, and vainglorious crap-on-the-side that accompanies it.
I was reading an article. It was written by Jeff Wilts and recommended by Bill Inmon. I got to this statement: “Teradata is a full-featured enterprise data warehouse.” For me, it went further downhill from there.
But this was the coup de grace: “Databricks is a unified data platform that can behave like a data warehouse.”
Many people come up to me in the street and ask me what big-data is all about. I have experienced this numerous times before. I am sure it might just happen to you as well. I know sort of thing, I read the big-data tea leaves. Nothing gets past me.
Martyn Rhisiart Jones and the Goodstrat editorial team, Madrid, 3rd February 2026
Introduction
The following is the redacted transcript of a conversation between the distinguished Sir Afilonius Rex of Cambriano Energy and the cordial Martyn Rhisiart Jones of goodstrat.com.
The informal session took place before an invited audience at the Welsh Academy’s alternative summer conference of July 2023 and featured a lively question-and-answer session with audience input.
According to our reliable sources, “The BBC, RTE and RTVE broadcast the session.”
In early 2026 the technology industry is once again telling big confident stories about its own future. These stories dominate earnings calls conference stages and investor decks. They sound transformative urgent and inevitable. Yet when examined closely many of them rest on fragile foundations and selective evidence rather than operational reality.