Architecture
Iceberg v3 is table stakes now; the lock-in moved upstairs
Summit season settled the table format question. What that removes from migration scoring, and where switching costs actually live in 2026.
· 1 min
Guides
20 guides, written from real engagements.
Governance
A data strategy that fits on one page
If the strategy needs forty slides, it is a wish list. The five sections that make a data strategy executable, with the questions each must answer.
· 2 min
Governance
The minimum governance set that passes an audit
Governance programs fail by attempting everything. The five controls that satisfy auditors and engineers at the same time, and what to defer.
· 2 min
Governance
When a data catalog earns its keep
Catalogs solve a discovery problem most companies do not have yet and an access problem every company has. Buy for the second reason, get the first free.
· 2 min
Architecture
Lock-in is a price, not a sin
Every platform choice trades switching cost for delivered capability. How to price lock-in honestly instead of fearing it uniformly.
· 3 min
Governance
Master data without the capital-P program
You need one answer to "which customer is this" more than you need an MDM platform. The lightweight identity layer that covers most of the need.
· 3 min
Architecture
Five questions before you commit to a lakehouse
The lakehouse is a kit, not a product. Five readiness questions that separate teams who benefit from open tables from teams who inherit a part-time job.
· 1 min
Architecture
Deciding on a metrics layer without a year-long pilot
The metrics layer question is smaller than vendors make it. A two-meeting decision process based on where your numbers already disagree.
· 3 min
Architecture
Designing a warehouse POC the vendor can't win by default
Vendor-run proofs of concept prove the vendor's demo. How to design a two-week POC that produces a decision instead of a discount code.
· 2 min
Migrations
Migrating the transformation layer without stopping the business
The transformation layer touches everything, which is why its migrations stall. A lineage-ordered method that ships value from week two.
· 2 min
Operations
How to audit an analytics stack in two weeks
The method behind our assessment, published in full. Inventory consumers, trace lineage backwards, price every workload, interview the people on call.
· 1 min
Operations
How to staff a data platform without an org redesign
Central bottleneck or embedded sprawl is a false choice. The topology that works at 50 to 500 engineers, and the one hire that decides it.
· 4 min
Migrations
The warehouse migration checklist we actually use
Forty items compressed to the twelve that prevent disasters. Inventory, parallel running, cutover criteria and the decommission list nobody writes.
· 1 min
Operations
Data SLOs that stakeholders actually understand
Freshness, completeness and accuracy promises, written in the consumer's units. How to define data service levels without importing SRE ceremony.
· 4 min
Operations
Take the cost baseline before you change anything
Modernization without a baseline is a story, not a result. What to measure in the week before any platform work begins, and why finance will thank you.
· 2 min
Migrations
Cutover patterns that don't bet the quarter
Big-bang cutovers make good war stories because they make bad migrations. The three patterns we use and how to pick between them.
· 2 min
Operations
What happens inside a Data Platform Assessment
The two-to-three week engagement, day by day. What we need from you, what you get back, and the two outcomes we consider a success.
· 4 min
Architecture
Buy versus build for ingestion, decided per connector
Ingestion is not one decision. Buy the long tail of SaaS connectors, build the two integrations that carry your business, and price maintenance honestly.
· 2 min
Operations
Executive dashboard anti-patterns we remove most often
The five patterns that make leadership dashboards untrusted, and the repairs. None of them require new tools; all of them require deleting something.
· 2 min
Migrations
Inventorying a legacy ETL estate without archaeology burnout
Before modernizing twenty years of jobs, you need a map that fits on a wall. A triage method that inventories by consequence instead of by job count.
· 2 min