Surviving the Tsunami: Are Data Platforms Enough?

We’ve been in the data and AI space for more years than we care to remember and we’ve seen first-hand the struggles organisations face trying to keep up with the pace of technological change. We are also increasingly recognising that as a result, traditional methods of building data platforms are no longer cutting the mustard.

So here’s a question to all those CTOs who are excited for the AI revolution, but are struggling with the relentless pace of technological change; whose delivery and tech teams skills can’t keep up; who face the daunting task of refreshing their data platform more frequently than they have the budget and resource for…

What if we use AI to beat technology at its own game? What if AI was to transition from tool to teammate by using it to automate your technology and data platform, so it evolves automatically and organically with your business?

The problem with today’s data platforms

Sticking a stake in the ground to define your current state and your organisation’s technological aspirations was all well and good when that bought you five years to achieve your project’s return on investment. But today we’re seeing Proof of Concept’s for AI projects that never move into production - simply because the technical landscape’s moved on by the time they’re completed. What do you do? Implement the solution knowing that you’re instantly creating technical debt?

Traditional approach to Data Platform development and change requests.

New technology is making requirements change all the time, and whilst it’s possible to re-architecture your data platform, this takes time and can be very costly. The more technology moves on, the more people and skills you’ll require; the less value your data platform will deliver as your data estate starts to become less streamlined; and the less return on investment you’ll achieve.

How does a data platform with a digital brain sound?

Consider a data platform that provides a complete understanding of how different entities in your business relate and connect to one another; one that understands your business and the context around your operations; one that evolves whenever anything changes across your enterprise; and one that you can provide with tasks to action autonomously.

 Here at FOIL we’re pioneering the Knowledge Platform. It’s a data platform built using AI and fuelled by business knowledge and context. We get that it might sound rather fanciful to some. But, let’s face it, if you really want to use AI to stay ahead of the game and disrupt your sector, then you’re going to have to do things differently. And that means evolving your data platform quite significantly.

The power of connection, context and accessibility

Capturing business knowledge within your data gives you three very important ingredients that will help your business stay ahead with AI. The first is connection. Whereas the data and information in today’s data platforms are only accessible based on the relational schema that your databases have, the foundation of a Knowledge Platform is an ontology based Knowledge Graph. It defines the relationships between all the data entities within your organisation – not just according to where they sit in databases, but how each entity relates and connects to one another.

This provides the second important ingredient - context. Whereas today’s data platforms have no understanding of your business or the context of your operation, a Knowledge Platform transitions data into meaningful information that is contextually aware.

The third ingredient that a Knowledge Platform delivers is accessibility. How readily accessible is your current data platform? Can your users search for answers? Do they know what’s in there? No they don’t. But with the knowledge and context that a Knowledge Platform provides, and the fact it’s constantly and automatically evolving, users can have absolute confidence in the data.

It’s time…

It’s time to start thinking differently. It’s time to start looking at where you are on your AI journey, where you want to get to, and how you’re going to get there. It’s time to start building assets and momentum.

We’d love to hear your experiences. Do you see limitations with traditional data platforms? Where could a Knowledge Platform take your enterprise? Leave your comments and questions below and sign up for more exclusive insights on navigating the challenges of AI implementation.