With the latest release of Azure SQL Data Warehouse, Microsoft doubles-down on Azure SQL DW as one of the core data services for digital transformation on Azure. In addition to the fundamental benefits of agility, on-demand scaling and unlimited compute availability, the most recent price-to-performance metrics from the GigaOM report are one of several the compelling arguments they have made for customers to adopt Azure SQL DW. Interestingly, Microsoft is also announcing the general availability of Azure Data Lake Gen 2 and Azure Data Explorer. Along with Power BI for rich visualization, these enhanced set of capabilities cement Microsoft’s leadership position around Cloud Scale Analytics.
Every day, they speak with joint Informatica and Microsoft customers who are looking to transform their approach to their data estate with a cohesive data lake and cloud data warehousing solution architecture. These customers range from global logistics companies, to auto manufacturers to the world’s largest insurers, and all of them see the tremendous potential of the Microsoft modern data estate approach; in fact, just via Informatica’s iPaaS (integration platform-as-a-service) offering, Informatica Intelligent Cloud Services, we’ve seen a significant quarter-to-quarter growth in customer data volumes being moved to Azure SQL DW.
Of course, as compelling as the Azure SQL DW technology is, for many customers, modernizing a legacy enterprise data warehouse is a daunting proposition to even consider. The thought of touching the intricate web of dependencies around the warehouse can keep even the most battle-tested CIO up at night. A key consideration when attempting your own cloud data warehousing/cloud data modernization initiative is to ensure you have intelligence about the existing schemas, lineage and dependencies to enable companies to incrementally unravel the data web surrounding the warehouse, and with laser-like precision, begin to move workloads and use case to Azure SQL DW.
Enter Informatica’s Enterprise Data Catalog with full end-to-end source-to-destination lineage and searchable machine-learning and AI-driven intelligent metadata about what data lives where in the warehouse to clear the fog of complexity and illuminate a clear path to cloud data warehousing. In fact, the concept of discovery and catalog driven-modernization is such a compelling leap forward that Microsoft and Informatica developed a single-sign-on Data Accelerator on Informatica’s Intelligent Cloud Services on Azure that can be accessed directly from the Azure SQL DW management console with your Azure credentials.