What Are the Key Components of the Modern Data Stack in 2022?

A modern data stack is an increasingly popular option for companies to manage their data.

A modern data stack is the set of technologies that enable a true data pipeline. A true data pipeline has the ability to extract data from multiple sources and bring it to one warehouse, transform that data, and connect that warehouse to a business intelligence (BI) tool for tasks, like visualization, that help with making decisions.

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Let’s take a quick look at those key components:

ETL/ELT

One of the most important outcomes of the modern data stack is the ability to create a universal source of truth. With a universal source of truth, it’s possible to make sure all of your teams are working with the same data. This leads to faster, more accurate insights.

A universal source of truth is only possible if all of the data leading into it is organized. That means bringing it to one place — a data warehouse.

Data extraction is the process of getting that data from your siloed data sources — think Google Analytics, Salesforce, your payment processor, etc. — into your data warehouse. There are two main methods of doing this: ETL and ELT.

Standing for Extract, Transform, and Load and Extract, Load, and Transform, respectively, these methods allow users to efficiently organize data in their data warehouse.

Mozart Data uses Fivetran for this process, as we believe it is the best-in-class tool. Our users have the ability to connect over 150 different data sources to their warehouse.

Data warehouse

A data warehouse is very much what it sounds like — one place to store and organize all of your data. Whether data is transformed before it’s loaded into the warehouse (ETL) or after (ELT), the warehouse is where data will live so that it can be used by your teams.

A properly organized data warehouse allows users to query their data with further transformation or their preferred business intelligence tool for further analysis. This is particularly valuable when you have large data sets that are difficult to manage.

Mozart uses Snowflake for data warehousing, since it’s a reliable, secure, and cost-effective option.

Transformation tool

Organizing all of your data in one centralized location unlocks immense opportunities. Transformation is the process of changing some attributes of raw data, such as its structure, format, or even values.

Regardless of whether data is transformed before it’s loaded into the warehouse, there are advantages to transforming your data. Tempo, the AI-powererd home gym, decreased their time to insight by 76% when they automated reporting with data transformation.

Mozart offers a SQL-based transformation tool that doesn’t require technical experience or expertise.

Business intelligence tool

To complete the modern data stack, companies need the ability to link their organized data to a business intelligence tool for easier analysis and data visualization. Our platform can be connected to any major business intelligence tool, as well as Google Sheets, so that your teams have the flexibility they need to use your data.

Mozart Data offers an all-in-one modern data platform — everything you need for the modern data stack, plus additional features to help you ensure your data is reliable and accessible. Contact us to learn more.