Emerging Trends in Data Architecture –

What’s the Next Big Thing?

Donna Burbank, Managing Director
Global Data Strategy, Ltd.
January 25, 2018
 Donna Burbank
of business drivers with data-centric latest BI and Analytics software in the
technology. In past roles, she has served in market.
key brand strategy and product
management roles at CA Technologies and She has worked with dozens of Fortune
Embarcadero Technologies for several of 500 companies worldwide in the Americas,
the leading data management products in Europe, Asia, and Africa and speaks
the market. regularly at industry conferences. She has
co-authored two books: Data Modeling for
As an active contributor to the data the Business and Data Modeling Made
Donna is a recognised industry expert in management community, she is a long Simple with ERwin Data Modeler and is a
information management with over 20 time DAMA International member, Past regular contributor to industry
years of experience in data strategy, President and Advisor to the DAMA Rocky publications. She can be reached at
information management, data modeling, Mountain chapter, and was recently donna.burbank@globaldatastrategy.com
metadata management, and enterprise awarded the Excellence in Data Donna is based in Boulder, Colorado, USA.
architecture. Her background is multi- Management Award from DAMA
faceted across consulting, product International in 2016. She was on the
development, product management, brand review committee for the Object
strategy, marketing, and business Management Group’s Information
leadership. Management Metamodel (IMM) and the
Business Process Modeling Notation
She is currently the Managing Director at (BPMN). Donna is also an analyst at the
Global Data Strategy, Ltd., an international Boulder BI Train Trust (BBBT) where she
information management consulting provides advices and gains insight on the
company that specializes in the alignment
Follow on Twitter @donnaburbank
Global Data Strategy, Ltd. 2018 Today’s hashtag: #LessonsDM 2
Today’s Panelists
Benjamin Nussbaum, CTO AtomRain brings to the table nearly 20 years of software architecture and engineering,
server infrastructure, database design and technology innovation experience with implementation expertise in globally
distributed enterprise software solutions for the world’s leading enterprises. Benjamin has experienced first hand the incredible
business value that is gained by an enterprise when they focus on connected data and leverage the relationships in their data
for understanding and insight. For the last four years, Benjamin has been focused on helping organizations get their data out of
the individual databases and data lakes scattered across departments and into a connect state using the Neo4j graph database,
where the data can be leveraged holistically as a valuable business asset

Danny Sandwell, Product Marketing Director, erwin is an IT industry veteran with 30 years of experience. As
a senior product marketing manager for erwin, Inc., he is responsible for the development and delivery of the company’s data
modeling solutions to meet evolving customer needs. During Danny’s 16 years with the company, he also has worked in
presales consulting, business development and business strategy roles – all giving him deep insight into a broad range of issues
facing organizations as they plan, develop and manage their data architectures. His goal is to help enterprises unlock the value
of their data assets to produce results against strategic business objectives.

Steve Wilkes, CTO/Founder Striim is a life-long technologist, architect, and hands-on development executive. Prior
to founding Striim, Steve was the senior director of the Advanced Technology Group at GoldenGate Software. Here he focused
on data integration, and continued this role following the acquisition by Oracle, where he also took the lead for Oracle’s cloud
data integration strategy. His earlier career included Senior Enterprise Architect at The Middleware Company, principal
technologist at AltoWeb and a number of product development and consulting roles including Cap Gemini’s Advanced
Technology Group. Steve holds a Master of Engineering Degree in microelectronics and software engineering from the
University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the UK.
Global Data Strategy, Ltd. 2018 3
DATAVERSITY Data Architecture Strategies
This Year’s Line Up for 2018
• January Panel: Emerging Trends in Data Architecture – What’s the Next Big Thing?
• February Building an Enterprise Data Strategy – Where to Start?
• March Modern Metadata Strategies
• April The Rise of the Graph Database: Practical Use Cases & Approaches to Benefit your Business
• May Data Architecture Best Practices for Today’s Rapidly Changing Data Landscape
• June Artificial Intelligence: Real-World Applications for Your Organization
• July Panel: Data as a Profit Driver – Emerging Techniques to Monetize Data as a Strategic Asset
• August Data Lake Architecture – Modern Strategies & Approaches
• Sept Master Data Management: Practical Strategies for Integrating into Your Data Architecture
• October Business-Centric Data Modeling: Strategies for Maximizing Business Benefit
• December Panel: Self-Service Reporting and Data Prep – Benefits & Risks
Global Data Strategy, Ltd. 2018 4
What We’ll Cover Today
• With technology changing at a faster pace than ever before, it can be challenging to keep up with
the latest innovations in data architecture.
• If you’re wondering which technologies and trends your organization should include as part of
your enterprise data architecture, you’re not alone.
• How can a data architecture support my business goals?
• Which are the hot technologies to adopt?
• What might be a fad or passing trend? Which are on their way out?
• Content is based on research from a 2017 DATAVERSITY survey on “Emerging Trends in Data
Architecture”.

Download at:
https://globaldatastrategy.com/resources/white-papers/

Global Data Strategy, Ltd. 2018 5

 Aligning Business Strategy and Data Strategy
A Successful Data Strategy links Business Goals with Technology Solutions

“Top-Down” alignment with

business priorities

Managing the people, process,

policies & culture around data

Leveraging & managing data for

strategic advantage

Coordinating & integrating

disparate data sources

“Bottom-Up” management &

inventory of data sources
Copyright 2018 Global Data Strategy, Ltd

Global Data Strategy, Ltd. 2018 6

Business Drivers for Data Architecture
What’s Driving the Need?

• As more organizations see

data as a strategic asset, and
with the drive towards Digital
Business Transformation on
the rise, the need to analyze,
understand & govern core
data assets continue to be a
key goal.

Global Data Strategy, Ltd. 2018 7

What’s Not at the Top
What’s Currently Less of a Priority?

• Although often hot in media

discussion, other key initiatives
were not currently at the top
of the list:
• Artificial Intelligence (AI)
• Cloud Migration
• Big Data
• Software Development

Global Data Strategy, Ltd. 2018 8

Blockchain
• Blockchain has received much attention in the media as a way to revolutionize financial and other
industries. According to Harvard Business Review:

“With blockchain, we can imagine a world in which contracts are embedded in

digital code and stored in transparent, shared databases, where they are protected
from deletion, tampering, and revision. In this world, every agreement, every
process, every task, and every payment would have a digital record and signature
that could be identified, validated, stored, and shared. Intermediaries like lawyers,
brokers, and bankers might no longer be necessary. Individuals, organizations,
machines, and algorithms would freely transact and interact with one another with
little friction. This is the immense potential of blockchain.”

Among survey respondents, however, only 7.7% are

actively using or pursuing use of Blockchain technology.

Global Data Strategy, Ltd. 2018 9

Blockchain Use Cases
• For those using Blockchain technologies, use cases are not limited to financial transactions.
• These include:
• Identity Management • Regulatory Compliance and Audit
• Records Management • Capital Markets
• Supply Chain Management • International Payments
• Peer-to-Peer Transactions

Global Data Strategy, Ltd. 2018 10

What Data Platforms are Currently in Use?
“Which of the following data sources or platforms are you currently using?
[Select all that apply]
Spreadsheets are
ubiquitous
• A wide range of technologies are
currently in use.

More Legacy
platforms (44.6%)
than Big Data (42.2%)

Relational Databases
are still clearly the
leader.

Global Data Strategy, Ltd. 2018 11

Emerging Technologies
“Which of the following do you plan to use in the future that you are not using
currently? [Select all that Apply]”
• For those looking at new
technologies, there is a wide range
of responses.
• Big Data Platforms a leader
• Move to Cloud RDMBS
• Graph Database
• Real-time Streaming
Many looking to Big
• Internet of Things (IoT) Data Platforms

• Many are still uncertain, indicating

the vast rate of change and wide
array of choices available.
Movement to the
Cloud is popular

Uncertainty is
common.

Global Data Strategy, Ltd. 2018 12

The “What’s Old is New Again” Section

Many of the “tried and true”

approaches that had been
considered “old school” are seeing
a resurgence.

Global Data Strategy, Ltd. 2018 13

Source: Psychology Today
Data Modeling is Hotter than ever
Sexiest job of the 21st Century?

In a recent DATAVERSITY survey,

over 96% of were engaged in Data
Modeling in their organizations.

Global Data Strategy, Ltd. 2018 14

 Business Centric View

• Business-centric models are

popular:
• Logical Data Models
• Conceptual Data Models
• Business Process Models
• As well as models that show
the interactions between
systems in today’s complex
data environment:
• Data Flow Diagrams

Global Data Strategy, Ltd. 2018 15

Who is Responsible for Creating a Data Architecture?
Wide Range of Responses shows Need for Collaboration

• With a greater business focus on

data and a wider range of
technologies associated with Data
Management…
A Bit more
Interesting… • … it is not surprising that there is a
concomitant rise in the diversity of
roles responsible for developing a
Data Architecture.
• … the role of the data architect, not
surprisingly, continues to play a
Well Duh…
large role.

Collaboration is Key to a
Successful Data Architecture.

Global Data Strategy, Ltd. 2018 16

Metadata is Hotter than ever
The other sexiest job of the 21st Century?

In a recent DATAVERSITY survey, over 80% of

respondents stated that:
Metadata is as important, if not more
important, than in the past.

Global Data Strategy, Ltd. 2018 17

Metadata Management Use Cases

• Use Cases were similar across

the 2016 & 2017 surveys:
• Data Governance
• Data Quality
• DW, BI, and Analytics
• Master Data Mgt (MDM)
• 2017 saw growth in:
• Regulation & Audit
• Master Data Management

Global Data Strategy, Ltd. 2018 18

Master Data Management

• As more and more organizations struggle with obtaining a single, consistent view of core data
such as Product, Customer, Vendor, and Location, Master Data Management (MDM) is seeing a
rise in implementations with over 65% of respondents pursuing a MDM strategy.

• Master Data is the consistent and uniform set of identifiers and

extended attributes that describes the core entities of the
enterprise including customers, prospects, citizens, suppliers, sites,
hierarchies and chart of accounts (sic).

• Master data management (MDM) is a technology-enabled

discipline in which business and IT work together to ensure the
uniformity, accuracy, stewardship, semantic consistency and
accountability of the enterprise's official shared master data assets.
- Source Gartner
Global Data Strategy, Ltd. 2018 19
Summary
• A Robust Data Architecture supports managing Data as a Strategic Asset
• Organizations are faced with the challenge of making sense of an ever-changing data
technology landscape
• Relational Databases are by far the leader in use by most enterprises
• Many organizations support both legacy systems (e.g. mainframe) and emerging technologies such as Big
Data.
• Big Data is the leader in new technology plans for organizations
• Some newer technologies, such as Blockchain and AI, have yet to see widespread adoption
• Data Models and metadata are more important than ever in gaining an understanding of
both business requirements & technical implementation.
• With growing interest from business users, more roles than ever are involved in Data
Architecture decisions, driving the need for collaboration.

Global Data Strategy, Ltd. 2018

About Global Data Strategy, Ltd.
Data-Driven Business Transformation
• Global Data Strategy is an international information management consulting company that specializes
in the alignment of business drivers with data-centric technology.
• Our passion is data, and helping organizations enrich their business opportunities through data and
information.
• Our core values center around providing solutions that are:
• Business-Driven: We put the needs of your business first, before we look at any technological solution.
• Clear & Relevant: We provide clear explanations using real-world examples, not technical jargon.
• Customized & Right-Sized: Our implementations are based on the unique needs of your organization’s
size, corporate culture, and geography.
• High Quality & Technically Precise: We pride ourselves in excellence of execution, and we attract high-
quality professionals with years of technical expertise in the industry.

Business Strategy Data Strategy

Aligned With

Global Data Strategy, Ltd. 2018 www.globaldatastrategy.com 21

DATAVERSITY Data Architecture Strategies
This Year’s Line Up for 2018 – Join Us Next Month
• January Panel: Emerging Trends in Data Architecture – What’s the Next Big Thing?
• February Building an Enterprise Data Strategy – Where to Start?
• March Modern Metadata Strategies
• April The Rise of the Graph Database: Practical Use Cases & Approaches to Benefit your Business
• May Data Architecture Best Practices for Today’s Rapidly Changing Data Landscape
• June Artificial Intelligence: Real-World Applications for Your Organization
• July Panel: Data as a Profit Driver – Emerging Techniques to Monetize Data as a Strategic Asset
• August Data Lake Architecture – Modern Strategies & Approaches
• Sept Master Data Management: Practical Strategies for Integrating into Your Data Architecture
• October Business-Centric Data Modeling: Strategies for Maximizing Business Benefit
• December Panel: Self-Service Reporting and Data Prep – Benefits & Risks
Global Data Strategy, Ltd. 2018 22
White Paper: Trends in Data Architecture
Free Download

• Download from
www.globaldatastrategy.com
• Under ‘Whitepapers’

Global Data Strategy, Ltd. 2018 23

White Paper: Emerging Trends in Metadata Management
Free Download

• Download from
www.globaldatastrategy.com
• Under ‘Whitepapers’

Global Data Strategy, Ltd. 2018 24

Questions?
Thoughts? Ideas?

Global Data Strategy, Ltd. 2018 25