What Is a Data Platform? [An In-Depth Guide for Businesses]

Whilst the creation of the internet and the rise of search engine databases and algorithms across the 2000s were what defined the Information Age, we’ve since seen a transition into the Digital Age that was driven by one major advancement: big data analytics. 

The rise of social media platforms provided a new type of database that market analysts recognised as holding major economic potential - and rightly so. With these globally growing databases that provide increasingly detailed insights into a diverse range of market demographics, data analytics solutions were produced with the intent of harnessing the full commercial value of these large data sets.

Then came the development of dedicated data management software. In simplest terms, data management platforms have been designed to support enterprises in maintaining their own internal data analytics resources that can provide data-driven insights over the long-term. Alongside providing enterprises with improved autonomy over their data (i.e. supporting centralised data management), enterprise data platforms are also designed to be cost-effective, operating at just a fraction of the cost of buying industry reports or utilising other third-party Big Data services.

But just as the concept of Big Data was once a veritable mystery, the sheer benefits and dynamic capabilities of cloud data platforms still aren’t widely known. So what is a data platform exactly? And what are the characteristics of data platform architecture? We’ll be answering these questions today.

What is a Data Platform?

A basic definition of data platform is that they provide a centralised or integrated system that addresses all the comprehensive data requirements of a specific enterprise. At Rayven, our data platforms are actually fully customised to suit the operational needs of your enterprise as well as your business goals and objectives. These custom application developments effectively ensure that our data solutions can be tailored expressly to your business databases and your company’s wider data network, covering all your data sources, from your CRMs to your IIoT solutions.

And that is in essence, the primary purpose of data platforms: to unify disparate data sources into a centralised system for easier management and analysis. By consolidating all your enterprise data sets, advanced data management systems are poised to play a vital role in the Digital Industrial Age, combating concerns of data silos and SaaS sprawl and ultimately ensuring that your enterprise is able to set up cohesive and scalable digital infrastructure.

To sum up, enterprise data platforms help integrate, manage, and analyse data for better decision-making over the long term.

Key Features of Data Platforms

As an emerging industry solution, the features of data platforms are still evolving every single day. Here are just some of the key features that early adopters can enjoy:

• Scalability: Using cloud infrastructure, cloud data platforms support the growth of internal datasets and user demands without utilising network resources and thus without compromising network performance.
• Data Integration: Data management platforms can be designed to integrate with a dynamic range of data sources, from CRM solutions to marketing analytics platforms and even IIoT monitoring solutions and their wider device networks. By unifying your business’ datasets, data platforms are effectively foundational to data hygiene and digital readiness, as more enterprises are expecting to digitise in unique ways across Industry 4.0.
• Data Activation and Transformation: By providing established data infrastructure that’s easily scalable and customisable, data management platforms can be used to streamline the processing of raw data sets, supporting the integration of new databases and future digital tools for your enterprise.
• Advanced Data Analytics: Using advanced data analytics capabilities, enterprises that integrate data management platforms into their operational workflows can gain insights into a range of different metrics (from user behaviour, to campaign performance and audience engagement, and environmental monitoring metrics).
• Improved Data Security: With the option to establish role-based access controls and advanced data encryption technologies, data management platforms are poised to play an integral role in the formation of digital-ready data security infrastructure for global industries.
• Generative AI: Advanced data platforms like our Rayven solutions are also equipped with generative AI capabilities. These platforms provide Large Language Models that have been trained specifically on your enterprise data, allowing for data insights that have been tailored to your business operations.

Benefits of Using Data Platforms.

As data platforms continue evolving to adapt to industries and their databases and Big Data analytics processes, the specific benefits of data platforms can vary from industry to industry (i.e. marketing agencies can enjoy detailed market insights and improved audience segmentation, whereas mining and manufacturing industries can benefit from data insights that support resource optimisation and waste reduction). 

Here are some data platform benefits that can be universally experienced across virtually all global industries:

• Improved Operational Efficiency: Integrated data management platforms can help streamline your operational workflows in dynamic ways, from automating data analytics processes to providing agile data systems that can be accessed quickly and efficiently via cloud servers.
• Enhanced Decision-Making: The immediacy of data analytics processes facilitated by data platforms supports decision-making processes, allowing for bidirectional growth strategising and instant workflow optimisation opportunities.
• Real-time Data Analytics: Business managers can enjoy the most up-to-date insights with the sheer power of real-time data harvesting and analytics processes.
• Optimising Digital Transformation Budgets: The scalability of data management platforms allows enterprises to invest only in the data platform infrastructure they need, reducing risks of overspending on your digital assets.
• Supporting Digital Readiness: With improved scalability and customisability, data management solutions will provide a foundation for data analytics processes, supporting the longevity of your enterprise across the Digital Age.

You can also download our Fast Start Brochure for more information on how your enterprise can benefit from early adoption of data management solutions.

How to Choose the Right Data Platform for your Enterprise

As we’ve mentioned, data platforms are evolving at a rapid pace today, with more software offerings available for business owners than ever before. So how do you know which data management platform is the best investment for your enterprise? 

Here are just some of the key considerations you should make when selecting ideal data platform infrastructure for your business: 

• Cost Evaluations: To ensure a robust ROI, you’ll naturally want to invest in data solutions that align with your digital transformation budget. Our pricing at Rayven provides a tiered approach, accommodating businesses of all scopes and sizes.
• Ease of Integration: Scalable data platforms are ideal as they can be easily integrated with existing databases and other data sources, allowing you to effectively build your own data platform infrastructure to suit your enterprise’s unique data harvesting, analytics, and storage processes.
• Type of Data Platform Architecture: From hybrid server setups to traditional ETL-based data architecture and other unique arrangements, your enterprise data will benefit from securing data platform architecture that aligns with your existing data infrastructure. Our Rayven data management solutions can be designed to slot right into your data infrastructure, supporting a wide range of architectural requirements.
• Industry and Business Requirements: All industries utilise data analytics processes in unique ways, so it’s vital to consider industry standards when determining which data platforms are most appropriate for your business. Similarly, evaluating your business goals (i.e. sustainable development goals, financial goals, operational goals, etc.), will help you determine which metrics and what data analytics processes are most likely to provide a healthy ROI for your enterprise. 

Leverage the Power of Data Platforms for your Enterprise

Data platforms provide growing benefits to virtually all industries, with platform infrastructure being adaptable to fit particular industry monitoring requirements as well as the existing array of data sources that drive your business.

With Rayven’s fully customisable data platform architecture, our data management platforms are designed to be immediately deployable and effortlessly scalable, ensuring that your enterprise can construct the perfect data solutions and digital infrastructure to support business growth across Industry 4.0. 

To learn more about our customisable data platform solutions, simply get in touch with our experts at Rayven. Our experts can provide more information for your decisionmakers alongside organising a free trial session to demonstrate how our data integration tools can optimise your enterprise workflows.