External Data University: Issue #16
🌩️ The Supercloud Concept has Curb Appeal But Requires Changes in Data Management
First, what’s a supercloud? It’s a new term being coined and is synonymous with “meta-cloud” and ‘’cross-cloud.” Regardless of nomenclature, it refers to the blending of various cloud providers. Doing this right means no one can identify this infrastructure as a hindrance, and it amplifies the benefits provided by an individual cloud provider.
Silos are the nemesis of progress toward the supercloud. Still, it’s critical to understand that centralization doesn’t have to be limited to one solution, argues John Spens, head of data and artificial intelligence for North America at IT consultancy Thoughtworks Inc.
Data management is important here because “experts say building a supercloud is about more than unifying developer toolsets and administrative controls. The process requires organizations to overhaul their approach to data management around a consistent set of ownership and governance principles anchored in a unified view of data,” Silicon Angle reports.
🫣 What is Data Ingestion, Anyway?
Anyone who works in or around external data has heard the term data ingestion. There’s a term for ingestion in most science types, ranging from biology to–you guessed it–data science.
If you were asked to define it, would you…
- Answer confidently
- Have to talk through
- Internally panic
Spoiler alert: no matter which answer you select, you need this guide on understanding data ingestion.
She defines it as, “At its simplest, data ingestion is the process of shifting or replicating data from a source and moving it to a new destination.”
Even if you’re a data expert, there’s still something for you in this article, including deeper ingestion concepts and recommended tools.
👀 What We’re Watching
🏛️ A Controversial New Data Law was Buried in Congress’ Omnibus Spending Bill
Back in December, Congress passed an omnibus spending bill and buried the Financial Data Transparency Act within it.
Why? The goal is to publicize financial information for public-sector organizations and make it available for online access, including reviewing and downloading.
What makes that controversial? The law is simply a requirement and not an action plan. The time and energy it takes to upload decades and decades of data after you’ve spent months formatting and organizing it wasn’t addressed in the bill.
It’s not impossible, though, because it’s a similar requirement public companies and nuclear facilities have to comply with. It also creates the potential for new businesses in the tech sector and room for improving the legacy data technology currently in place at public sector organizations.
- Scout
Scout Scholes
Content Marketing Manager