At Ascendion, we’re always on the lookout for ways to improve how businesses use and manage their data. Recently, our team explored a compelling new concept: Data Mesh, specifically using Google Cloud Platform’s (GCP) Dataplex.
We have all heard how data is growing at an exponential rate. But here’s the kicker— around 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are generated each day and two-thirds of that data isn’t even analyzed. Despite this flood of information, many organizations struggle to tap into its full value. That’s where a Data Mesh comes in, designed to break down data silos and decentralize data ownership.
What is a Data Mesh?
Traditional data architectures can create bottlenecks, with centralized data teams overwhelmed by the increasing demand for insights. Data Mesh flips that outdated model on its head. Instead of a single, centralized data lake or warehouse, Data Mesh distributes data ownership across different business domains like sales, marketing, or finance. They manage and have full control over their data, from how it’s structured to how it’s accessed. But that doesn’t mean chaos—there’s still centralized governance in place to ensure everything runs smoothly.
This provides a smarter, more flexible approach, and the best part is, businesses don’t lose the ability to centrally govern or monitor their data.
Using GCP Dataplex to build a Data Mesh
At Ascendion, we have been helping businesses move towards this decentralized model by using GCP Dataplex, a powerful tool that helps manage and govern distributed data. Here’s a breakdown of how GCP Dataplex is useful:
- Unified metadata: Provides a consistent view of all data, no matter where it’s stored—on-prem, cloud, or across different cloud platforms.
- Centralized governance: Applies governance and security policies based on specific business context, not just physical data locations. Think data ownership without the chaos!
- Intelligent data management: Automates tasks like data classification and lifecycle management, by using machine learning, so teams can focus less on data wrangling and more on deriving insights.
- Organizes data into lakes and zones: These logical structures let teams manage everything from raw to curated data, making the whole process more intuitive and flexible for business use cases.
Seamless data management for all teams
What if a team has data spread across multiple cloud environments? With Dataplex, they can unify this data under one logical lake and categorize it into stages, from raw to curated. Moreover, one can easily add assets, like BigQuery datasets or Google Cloud Storage buckets, and start querying data almost instantly.
And the best part? You don’t have to be an engineer to get value out of it. Dataplex helps automate tasks like data quality checks, access management, and lineage tracking. So, teams across the board—from analysts to executives—can access the data they need with fewer roadblocks.
Break free from outdated architecture
Data Mesh is not just a trend—it’s a new way of thinking about data architecture that’s better suited to the complexity and scale of today’s business needs.
At Ascendion, we believe in empowering businesses to make better decisions faster. By implementing solutions like Data Mesh and GCP Dataplex, we help businesses break free from outdated data architectures. Whether it’s enabling smoother operations or driving insights that make a tangible difference, tools like these are helping us transform how businesses think about and use their data.
