3 Trends That Will Shape the Data Ecosystem in 2023

With the fast-paced evolution of the data ecosystem, it's no surprise that there are countless predictions floating around about the future of data. While you may have already read some of them for 2023, we advise staying for this one, as it shall not disappoint.

Predicting the future of the data ecosystem is important because it helps businesses and organizations stay ahead of the curve and make strategic decisions about how to leverage data in the most effective way.

Understanding where the industry is headed allows organizations to better position themselves to take advantage of opportunities and overcome challenges as they arise.

In this article, we will explore three predictions for the data ecosystem in 2023, highlighting key trends and developments that are likely to shape the way we use and manage data in the coming years.

We only have three predictions for 2023, but we are confident they are well-founded. In the coming year, we expect to see greater data democratization, a significant increase in data volumes, and more widespread adoption of data catalogs. Enjoy the ride!

I. Data Democratization Accelerates

In 2023, and in the decade to come, more people will be using data. Data teams will continue to transition toward the data mesh.

The data mesh is an architectural pattern that allows for data to be decentralized across multiple systems and applications, while still having a single source of truth.

It is based on the idea of creating a decentralized and self-serve data ecosystem, where data is treated as a first-class citizen and is made easily accessible to all teams within an organization.

As the data mesh trend becomes more prevalent, product, finance, and marketing teams will increasingly use data as part of their day-to-day operations.

To achieve decentralization, operational teams will need to be knowledgeable about data and its interpretation.

Operational teams may not have the same level of training or expertise as technical teams when it comes to handling data, so it is important for organizations to provide them with high-quality data that is enriched with context.

As a result, more organizations will start to view data as a product that they can offer to their customers. This will require them to build a certain level of reliability and trustworthiness around the data they provide, in order to ensure that customers have confidence in the data and can use it effectively.

The quality of data products is partly reflected by the level of documentation and context around this data.

Data will become more widely used across a greater number of departments within organizations, but it will also increase in overall volume. This leads us to our next prediction…

II. Data Volumes Keep Increasing

In 2023 and in the decade to come, data is expected to further grow in volume.

According to a study by IDC, global data volumes are expected to grow exponentially, resulting in a total of 175 zettabytes of data being generated and processed by 2025.

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This trend is likely to continue as more businesses recognize the benefits of leveraging data and cloud technology to improve their operations and gain a competitive edge.

As a result, companies will need to invest in the necessary infrastructure and expertise to manage their data effectively and securely in the cloud.

Additionally, companies may need to adopt new strategies and processes to ensure that their data is organized, accessible, and usable by the relevant teams and systems.

Overall, the increasing use of data and the migration of data workloads to the cloud will have a significant impact on how companies operate and compete in the coming years.

As data volumes continue to grow exponentially, the scrutiny around data and how it is used is also likely to increase.

This may include implementing stricter privacy and security measures to protect personal and sensitive information, as well as adopting new policies and guidelines to govern the use of data within the organization.

Additionally, regulators and policymakers may also increase their scrutiny of data practices, in order to protect the rights and interests of individuals and ensure that data is being used in a way that is fair and transparent. Regulators will not hesitate to impose fines, such as the one faced by Amazon in 2021, in order to enforce compliance with relevant laws and regulations.

As a result, companies and organizations that handle large amounts of data will need to be prepared to operate under increased scrutiny and be prepared to justify their data-related activities to external stakeholders.

As data volumes continue to grow, organizations will also become more conscious of the costs associated with managing and storing data. The economic environment will drive increased cost-optimization around data, as companies seek ways to reduce the amount of useless data they store and optimize their use of data.

Tools and practices that help organizations achieve these goals will be highly sought after, as companies look for ways to reduce their data-related costs and improve their efficiency.

III - 2023: Enter the Data Catalog Era

The future of data can be summed up as follows:

1. Organizations will increasingly operationalize data, putting it in the hands of business departments.
2. Data volumes will keep growing exponentially, as will the regulations around data.
3. Cost optimization around data will be a key concern for organizations in the actual macroeconomic environment.

This is the sweet spot for data catalogs.

Data catalogs help organizations improve the discoverability and accessibility of their data, making it easier for employees and stakeholders to find, use and trust the data they need.

Additionally, data catalogs can also help organizations to improve the governance and security of their data, by providing a central repository for managing access and permissions, as well as tracking the origin and lineage of each data set.

Finally, data catalogs make it easy to optimize for efficient data usage. Modern data catalogs automatically detect unused or duplicate data, prompting companies to get rid of unavailing data.

In the future, it is thus natural that organizations will place a greater emphasis on implementing data catalogs as a key component of their data management strategy.

Data catalogs are the best tools for equipping businesses to make sense of larger data volumes, comply with tighter regulations and make data accessible to business audiences while optimizing costs.

For these reasons, it is without surprise that we will see the demand for data catalogs skyrocket in 2023 and into the next decade.

We concern ourselves with HOW this growing demand can be answered. This is why we built Castor.

About us

We write about all the processes involved when leveraging data assets: from the modern data stack to data teams composition, to data governance. Our blog covers the technical and the less technical aspects of creating tangible value from data.

At Castor, we are building a data documentation tool for the Notion, Figma, Slack generation.

Or data-wise for the Fivetran, Looker, Snowflake, DBT aficionados. We designed our catalog software to be easy to use, delightful and friendly.

Want to check it out? Reach out to us and we will show you a demo.

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