Data Fabric

Data Fabric can act as a springboard for your organisation’s digital goals. Integrating data storage, software and applications across your business, Data Fabric creates a foundation for you to explore myriad data capabilities almost effortlessly – from advanced analytics and visualisation, to streaming, automation and AI.

By drawing data from multiple sources and making it available across different environments (cloud, hybrid and on-premise) it eradicates data silos, making data a fully flexible resource that can be accessed by every department.

Data Fabric also leverages your metadata, giving valuable context that empowers people to make data-driven decisions with a full understanding of that data’s lineage, quality and profile.

Here are some of the key benefits Data Fabric can bring to your organisation:

• Democratise your data, making data accessible and usable for everyone.
• Leverage your metadata, giving valuable context to your data.
• Handle an increasing number of data sources.
• Manage data across different environments: cloud, hybrid and on-premise.
• Get a unified, consistent data view.
• Increase business flexibility.
• Foster innovation and meet rising expectations from data.
• Add value with data-driven applications.
• Boost machine learning and AI capabilities
• Manage increased dependence upon data.
• Adhere to compliance requirements.
• Scale and evolve with data.
• Build a flexible foundation for a data-driven future.

What problems does Data Fabric solve?

As data moves from being an IT and technology term to a business resource and asset, challenges have emerged in how organisations interact with data.

A move to Data Fabric can help your organisation to tackle some of these challenges, including:

• Data silos
• Poor integration
• Time spent on manual migration and reporting.
• Inconsistent data science skills
• Restricted access to data
• Cultural understanding and acceptance of data

What is a Data Fabric?       

Data Fabric is a flexible ecosystem that brings together and integrates data storage, software and applications across your business. It’s not a solution you can simply ‘buy-in’: it’s more an approach that integrates solutions to make data more available, accessible, agile and ready to support data innovations long into the future.

A typical Data Fabric should have the following components:

• Data Governance: Master Data Management, Catalogue, Data Lineage, Data Quality, Data Profiling.
• Security + Access: Role based access control and compliance with InfoSec.
• Integration: Extracts data from source systems across all data types, including unstructured, in almost real-time.
• Data Engineering: Automated pipelines with simple to maintain transformations.
• Data Lake + Data Warehouse: Data repositories containing data models optimised for business terms, reporting and analytics.
• Large Language Models (LLMs), Machine Learning and AI.
• Analytics + Visualisations: Including self-service analytics and reporting.

Is Data Fabric a product?

Data Fabric isn’t a product: it’s an approach to organising your data architecture. That said, there are products that offer a more complete Data Fabric foundation, such as Microsoft Fabric and Snowflake, amongst others.

If you’re looking to introduce a Data Fabric, there are two options:

• Integrating ‘best of breed’ technology: selecting and integrating software from multiple vendors that each best performs the function you need.
• Starting with a new solution: introducing a Data Fabric approach from one vendor, using their products to create your ecosystem.

Both of these approaches are equally valid to create a functioning Data Fabric for your organisation: there is no wrong or right solution.

The key thing to remember are the capabilities your enterprise needs, and how they are integrated. Working with a partner, like Agile Solutions, is essential to this process. We’ll help you identify what approach is right for you and ensure it is implemented effectively, without disruption.

How Agile Solutions deliver Data Fabric

At Agile Solutions, our vendor-agnostic approach to data solutions allows us to build a Data Fabric that works for you.

We will:

• Assess your existing data landscape, architecture and capabilities.
• Identify your data goals and define your desired business outcomes.
• Help you build a business case.
• Select or design a solution that works for you.
• Implement new technologies and integrations.
• Embed Data Fabric into your organisation’s processes and culture.
• Create a Data Fabric that enables your business to democratise its data: scale, react and grow.

Understanding Data Fabric

For more detailed information on Data Fabric – from what it can do for your business to implementing it effectively – download our guide or speak to one of our Data Fabric experts.