Disclaimer


The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in my posts are solely my own as author and do not necessarily represent those of any present or past employer or any other organisation or individual that I am or have been in any way affiliated with.

Some of the ideas may also be slightly different to those of other data management professionals and as such I hope they are useful to prompt some new perspectives and maybe even a bit of constructive discussion and debate!

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Why does maintaining legacy technology cost so much?

Why does maintaining legacy technology cost so much? Let’s compare it to a building. Imagine you have an old converted barn, which has a thatched roof. In the past, thatching was one of the most advanced techniques for roofing, providing outstanding insulation and protection from the elements. Thatching was also a common skill, so maintaining a roof built using this technique was relatively cheap. Nowadays, a thatched roof is no longer cutting edge. More modern methods last longer with less need for maintenance. The skills needed to maintain a thatched roof are scarce, so expert craftsmen can charge more. Also, if you ever wanted to extend your house, to add more space or use it for other purposes, connecting it to modern roofing structures will be hard and expensive, and will make it even harder and more costly to maintain in the future. Unlike a thatched roof, your legacy technology doesn’t ‘look nice’, so other than the fact that it ‘still works’, the benefits of continuing to inves...
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"The reluctant student" - Section 1 of 7: THE DATA LITERACY DRIVING SCHOOL (free excerpts)

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  This is the first part of the chapter titled “The Data Literacy Driving School”, from the book “ The Data Garden And Other Data Allegories ”. ______________________________ The reluctant student You look over at your driving instructor and sigh. Why do I have to do this again? you think. Taking data taxis had always been fine before. This seems like it’s going to be a lot of effort, and for what? Your company’s enrolled you on a mandatory data literacy driving course. For years, data employees have been paying to use other people’s data cars to get places, but after a series of wasted journeys and large-scale data car crashes, there has been a decision to educate everyone on how to drive. Someone realised that if people didn’t know how to drive a data car, they wouldn’t be able to effectively direct a data taxi driver to get the best out of their journey. At this point, you’re pretty sure you’re never going to need to use these new skills that you’re learning. Taxis have always ...
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“Hope for the future" - Section 14 of 14: THE DATA ARCHITECTURE CONSTRUCTION PROJECT (free excerpts)

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This is the fourteenth part of the chapter titled “The Data Architecture Construction Project”, from the book “ The Data Garden And Other Data Allegories ”. ______________________________ Hope for the future After the meeting has finished, your Head Builder finds you back in the meeting room, leaning back in your chair and gazing out of one of the windows at the Data Insights Town skyline. The sun is setting behind one of the tall buildings in the distance and the sky is awash with hues of red, yellow and orange. His presence stirs you from your reverie and you look at him with a smile. “How do you think my first day went?” “Could’ve been worse,” comes the response, with a chuckle.  You laugh in return. “That sounded enthusiastic!” Your new deputy comes and sits next to you. He speaks slowly and with meaning. “I’ll be honest, Boss. Things haven’t been great around here for a long time. I think you can see that from what you’ve heard today. But you can also see how much everyone her...
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