Cloud giants like Google and Snowflake, unicorns like dbt Labs, and a host of venture-backed startups are now talking about a critical new layer in the data and analytics stack. Some call it a “metrics layer,” or a “metrics hub” or “headless BI,” but most call it a “semantic layer.” I prefer to call it a “semantic layer” because it best describes a business-friendly interface […]
Do You Need a Semantic Layer?
I co-founded my company to focus on the challenges of supporting a large number of data analysts working on disparate sets of data managed in a massive lake. We borrowed the term “semantic layer” from the folks at Business Objects, who originally coined it in the 1990s. The term was actually over 20 years old […]
The Semantic Layer Goes Mainstream
The semantic layer concept within the data stack is not new but is an increasingly popular topic of conversation. I predict that in 2022, we’ll see mainstream awareness of the semantic layer, especially as enterprises begin to see real-world examples of its benefits. The fact that industry leaders are discussing the need for a semantic […]