Blake Burch builds workflow solutions for companies that want to see massive improvements in ROI through better use of data. He’s the co-founder and CEO of Shipyard, a modern data orchestration platform that helps data teams connect tools, move data between them, and ensure data is consistently delivered to stakeholders.
Blake joined Carl Lewis, host of The Connected Enterprise podcast, to chat about data delivery and data warehouses.
Data Delivery
Shipyard has built low-code templates that make it easy for customers to deliver data—for example, extracting information from a file storage system like Google Drive or a data warehouse like BigQuery.
Customers can also build proactive alerts.
“That could be letting the sales team know a high-priority lead revisited the website,” Blake explains. “Or the data team can know when there are active data issues. And the HR team can be alerted when someone hasn’t completed an internal survey.”
Data Warehouses
Many companies use disconnected systems to collect data, and users must log into each to pull analytics for reports. And companies that use spreadsheets must copy and paste data into a sheet and aggregate it in a different sheet.
“We see these frequently, and they’re signs you’re not doing things the most efficient way,” Blake says.
These companies—and companies just getting off the ground—should consider a data warehouse.
Cloud vs. On-Premises Data Warehouses
While an on-premises solution may be an option for some companies, there are several reasons to evaluate a cloud data warehouse.
One reason is the elimination of human capital.
“You don’t have to worry about maintaining the systems that power your warehouse,” Blake says. “Your team can analyze data, apply multiple filters, and run numerous queries without concern for capacity.”
Another reason is speed. With legacy on-premises systems, data can become so bogged down that getting answers becomes a waiting game.
“What usually happens is one little filter was off, so you waited 10 hours for the wrong answer and must wait another 10 hours for the right answer,” Blake explains. “A cloud warehouse prevents those issues.”
Data Warehouse Recommendations
If you’re in the market for a data warehouse, Blake recommends Snowflake and BigQuery.
“You can sign up and start using them immediately,” Blake says. “And both offer pricing based on the quantity of data you’re actively processing or how much time servers are up and running against your queries.”
Listen to the Podcast
For more insights from Blake Burch, including how to get your data into a data warehouse, listen to Vision33’s The Connected Enterprise podcast. In each episode, host Carl Lewis interviews bright minds and industry thought leaders about enterprise technology and what’s coming next.
