Written by Tornike Avaliani

In an era where data is heralded as the new enterprise currency, organisations across the globe are in a relentless pursuit of leveraging their data assets to drive innovation and gain a competitive edge. At the heart of this data-driven revolution lies the modern data stack, a dynamic ecosystem engineered to Store, Manage, and Apply vast troves of data.

The modern data stack can be distilled into three fundamental phases:

Store

Manage

Apply

These broad categories serve as the bedrock for all data-driven operations in an organisation. Throughout this trilogy of articles, I will explore each of the above.

My objective is to:

• Offer context by tracing the technological evolution leading to the present state
• Explore the current direction of these categories — how solutions are converging, which technologies are gaining prominence, and what organisations are seeking
• Identify disruptors and examine the forces that will define the future landscape of these phases

Why am I writing these articles?

TLDR: my fascination with data has been a big part of my journey to becoming an engineer (just starting my third year!). For those doubting the immense power of data (are there any?!), just watch ‘The Great Hack’ on Netflix. It was during my summer internship with Beacon, over (lukewarm) beers with Maria, Zach, and Tom on a (hot) Friday afternoon that my enthusiasm for the transformational impact of data on enterprises landed me onto some hot but interesting water: “Great” they said “you should write a blog on the Modern Data Stack and look at how the tools that empower organisations to turn data into actions have evolved.” Served me right! And here I am….

So, in this first article, I will look at the state of storage solutions, which serve as the foundational linchpin of the modern data stack.