Databases are essential to store and manage data across applications. However, traditional databases can be slow and limiting, especially for modern applications that support mobile, web, or cloud-based use. In order to support these use cases and more, you need a modern data architecture that can scale and serve data from anywhere, anytime.
That’s where data fabrics and data mesh come in.
Data fabrics and data meshes are becoming more important for modern enterprises that want to scale their businesses and data processing. They can be especially useful for organizations that want to scale their analytics and big data initiatives, but don’t have the budget or space for a big data storage solution.
What is a data fabric?
A data fabric is a networked model of storage and processing where data can be stored, queried, and processed anywhere. It’s like a big data warehouse in the cloud where you store data in a central location, but you can process it on-demand using API calls, without having to store it in the same location. Data fabric is the networking technology that enables this model.
Data fabric software architecture patterns builds data services that can scale and serve data from anywhere, anytime. It’s a common architecture used to build data services that are faster and more agile.
Data fabric benefits:
- Reduces duplication of efforts
- Reduces data management costs
- Eliminates excess capacity
- Eliminates bottlenecks, delays, and errors
- Improves security by protecting systems from cyberattacks
- Integrates and collects all your business’ data
- Facilitates data sharing for improves outcomes
- 458% increase in ROI
- 60 times accelerated data delivery time
- 20 times faster customer affinity analyses
What is a data mesh?
A data mesh is a type of data fabric that allows data to be transferred between computers and devices using a peer-to-peer network. This means that data is stored and processed on each device, and then pushed or synchronized to other devices. Data mesh is the software technology that enables this model.
Data meshes are a way to represent the relationships between different types of data, and they can be used to explore and analyze complex relationships in large datasets.
Data mesh benefits:
- Eliminates duplicate entries
- Scales delivery of data products
- Improves workflow efficiency
- Gives all team members the same information
- Enables a flexible data governance operating model
Examples for data mesh:
- A map with weather forecasts overlaid
- A map with population density overlaid
- A map with the spread of disease overlaid
- An interactive visualization showing how poverty rates vary across different neighbourhoods in a city
How do they work?
Data fabric and data mesh have similar functionality, but different structures and designs. The main difference is in how data is stored and processed on each device. In a data fabric, data is stored in a centralized location. In a data mesh, data is stored on each device.
Data mesh is a data infrastructure that uses the internet to connect all nodes of an enterprise, while data fabric connects both cloud and on-premises resources. As businesses are more dependent than ever before on digital technologies such as virtualization, automation, and analytics, they require greater agility in order to compete effectively.
Using data mesh and data fabric in business
Data fabric and data mesh can be used to store and process data that resides in different places — such as data kept on a server in one location and data used by a mobile app in another location. You can use data fabric and data mesh to connect these two data sources and have the data source on the server communicate with the data source in the mobile app. This allows you to collect data from different sources and have it available for analysis and processing using a single set of tools.
Data fabric and data mesh can also be used to store and process data that comes in many forms, such as sensor data, sensor data generated by machines, or data that originates from the internet. Using data fabric, you can connect disparate systems and collect data from different sources and have it available for analysis and processing using a single set of tools.
Find the right solution for your business
In short, data fabric and data mesh provide a scalable, highly available, and distributed model for storing, processing, and accessing data. This can be a great solution for modern applications that need to scale, especially when analyzed on-demand. They are also a good fit for organizations that want to avoid having to maintain multiple data architectures and want a seamless transition to a modern architecture.
The database consulting specialists at Everconnect can help you integrate and apply data fabric and data mesh capabilities to enhance your business. Talk to them today and discover how your business could benefit.
From what I understand data fabric is going to be essential for companies in the future, no? I mean it has so many benefits. I wonder, does it have any downsides and if so, what are they?
So you need to have both types of data (mesh and fabric)? Why not just fabric?
Well, that 458% increase in ROI is enough for me to give this a serious look. Everything else (the benefits) are just a great bonus.
It’s nice to learn how data fabric and data mesh work together to make things smoother. I’ve seen the results of this with many programs and data we’re using but I never knew how it actually works. Good to know.