1

Summary

Introduction 05

Fundamental Components 06

● Balanced Domain Awareness 07

○ Data Mesh Architecture 07

○ Data Fabric Architecture 08

○ Data Mesh vs. Data Fabric 08

● Seamless Integration Driven 09

● Cloud: Native and Enabled Design 09

● Governance as a First-Class Citizen 10

● Robustness, Scalability, and Portability 10

● Built-in Data Enablement Features 11

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 Summary

Enhancing App Modernization 12

● Fewer redundancies 12

● Standardized APIs 12

● Data flows and cloud-native 13

● Scalability, portability, and robustness 13

● Data uniformity 13

Benefits of Developer Platform Approach 14

● The Role of EDPs 14

● Data Architectures and Modernization 15

AI-driven and Coding with Data 16

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 Summary

How to Implement Data-Driven 17

● Build data enablement tools 17

● Identify automatable actions 18

● Optimize every workflow 18

● Unify your knowledge processes 18

Conclusion 19

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 Introduction

A modern data architecture can elevate applications

— and the organizations that use them. By establishing
data-centric practices, teams foster innovation, promote
ownership, and increase agility.

Information has taken center stage in all aspects

of business. Data architectures help developers rise
to the occasion and power smarter decision-making.
But even the strongest architectures need support
to succeed. Enterprise Developer Platforms (EDPs)
establish firmer footing for innovation.

How can you make your app modernization journey

a success? This e-book explores the role of data
architectures and how EDPs can help you do more
with them.

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 Fundamental Components
of a Modern Data Architecture
Data architectures describe the whole-lifecycle management
of data. They're like roadmaps for how information transits
through storage systems and gets consumed.

Choosing an ideal data architecture isn't a one-size-fits-all

journey. Different enterprise use cases demand distinct
approaches, but some common elements appear frequently:

● Balanced Domain Awareness

● Seamless Integration Driven by API Standardization
● Cloud-native and Cloud-enabled Design
● Governance as a First-class Citizen
● Robustness, Scalability, and Portability
● Built-in Data Enablement Features

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 Balanced Domain Awareness

Classical data architectures draw their inspiration from

technology, answering questions like:

● What schemas and structures underly data?

● Where and how is data formatted, maintained, and stored?
● What kinds of data sanitization should happen before
delivery?

Modern data architecture in app modernization contexts

reframes this approach to incorporate a higher-level awareness
of enterprise needs. The goal is to hone in on utility factors, like
how users typically ingest data. Usability-oriented data
architectures come in many flavors, but two widespread
examples are the data mesh and data fabric:

Data Mesh Architecture

A data mesh architecture separates solutions into domains

that mirror business, networking, or other organizational
boundaries. In most meshes, organizations view
data as a product, with different domain stakeholders
owning their data. The delivery platform accommodates
by permitting self-service and federated governance.

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 Data Fabric Architecture

Data fabric architectures use integrated technologies and

services to improve data accessibility at scale. They centralize
data enablement and decision-making, working as a virtual
layer that spans an entire enterprise and may operate
as a global system. According to Gartner, these architectures
can reduce integration design and deployment times by 30%.

Data Mesh vs. Data Fabric At-a-Glance

● Data mesh seeks to avoid the operational bottlenecks

of centralized architectures. One McKinsey study found that
a large industrial company could use a mesh strategy to
create self-service data discovery dashboards and activate
300 users.

● Data fabric's technology-centric focus makes it effective for

adapting to changing infrastructures. One Forrester report
found that some fabrics produced 60x data delivery speeds
1
and increased RoI by more than 450%.

1 - Forrester, “New Technology: The Projected Total Economic Impact TM

Of IBM Cloud Pak For Data.”

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 ● Data fabrics may be more complex to implement and
integrate, but their longevity comes with widespread
support. By the end of 2024, one in four data management
suppliers will provide complete fabric frameworks.

● Data meshes can demand technical expertise to implement

and scale, but that's not stopping them from catching on.
The global market was valued at USD 1.01 billion in 2023.

● Many enterprises adopt a hybrid approach that shares

characteristics of both architectures.

Seamless Integration Driven by API

Standardization

Data architects pay close attention to how stakeholders ingest

and share data. They promote standard API interfaces to ease
growing pains and enhance scalability. As a result, teams can
communicate with each other as well as with legacy services.

Cloud-native and Cloud-enabled Design

Modern data architectures must adapt to the way independent

business units work. Cloud-native, cloud-enabled architectural
patterns capitalize on features like elastic scaling and support
distribution, and optimized workflows.

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 They also help you control what happens in the cloud more
precisely — a plus since only 28% of enterprises categorize
their cloud investments as "very successful."

Governance as a First-Class Citizen

Today's data architectures are inherently self-aware.

Users can observe information flows across organizations and
parameterize security configurations. They can monitor service
quality, set access controls, and trace data lineages. By keeping
governance on the front burner, data architects promote easier
analysis and lower barriers to self-service.

Robustness, Scalability, and Portability

Pipelines are integral to data architectures, but yours shouldn't

be set in stone. Effective architectures allow for pipelines that
evolve — accounting for scaling and the need for portability.
This applies at every level; as McKinsey notes, schemas should
favor extensibility and flexibility over rigidity.

Many architectures leverage AI-powered analytics and workflow

management to respond to changes. Prioritizing decoupled,
extensible modularity is another smart design tactic.
Components built around open standards offer compatibility
benefits without the risks of interdependence.

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 Built-in Data Enablement Features

Data architectures should make it easy for people to use

information correctly. Dashboards, discovery tools, and
sanitization interfaces keep data useful.

Enablement features provide real-time views that eliminate

ambiguities and prevent harmful siloing. They also further
the self-service cause: stakeholders can classify, validate,
and manage data stores without outside help, reducing
project lead times.

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 How Modern Data Architectures
Enhance App Modernization
Contemporary data architectures aren't only about providing
data views. Enablement helps organizations modernize
software more effectively:

Fewer redundancies make better data

Standardizing data management enhances utility by exposing
quality problems. When everyone uses the same tools
to access data sources, inaccuracies become easier to spot.

Redundancies hurt the bottom line: IBM estimated that poor

data quality cost the U.S. economy $3.1 trillion in 2020.

Standardized APIs let legacy technology age

gracefully

It can be painful to migrate an outdated legacy monolith

to a microservices architecture. Using APIs breaks
modernization into more digestible chunks. This strategy can
also lighten the workload: you can expose some legacy
services instead of replacing everything.

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 Data flows complement the cloud-native
architecture

Modernization often involves distributed computing, which

is where flow-centric design patterns shine. Analyzing how
components and stakeholders share information helps
preserve functionality as you restructure apps for improved
load management.

Scalability, portability, and robustness

support flexibility
Modernization projects can take detours no matter how well
you plan. For instance, how service upgrades will respond
to real-world usage is not always obvious. Modern data
architectures with adaptable pipelines simplify testing and
experimentation — even when conditions change.

Data uniformity furthers organizational

alignment

Successful enterprises let data drive decision-making.

Modernization makes it easy to lose sight of this ideal
because service transformations also force cultural shifts.
Data architectures set the tone for how stakeholders
communicate and share their discoveries.

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 The Benefits of a Unified
Developer Platform Approach
The Role of EDPs in Modern Data
Architecture

Whether they involve meshes, fabrics, or other models, modern

data architectures often prioritize standardization. Enterprise
Developer Platforms (EDPs) do the same, but the goal is
broader.

Developer Platforms standardize technical patterns and

abstract common workflows. So, developers enjoy accelerated
software development with reusable, executable architectures.
Remember: data architectures aren't specific technologies but
broad, strategic methodologies. A Developer Platform is an
ideal match for your enterprise contexts and needs. A platform
gives you the flexibility to implement, validate, and operate
systems and frameworks in a stack-agnostic way to further
compatibility and ease integration.

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 Data Architectures Streamline
Modernization Journeys

Modern data architectures demand iterative improvement, but

enterprises don't have time to wait around. Enablement is best
when it happens live — your stakeholders must be able to query,
inspect, and interact with information as events develop.

With EDPs, time to market decreases. When someone needs

a new data API or dashboard, you can build it faster using task
automation and standardization. Taking feature requests
in stride becomes the norm when you don't have to reinvent
the wheel.

The same goes for troubleshooting and upgrades — platforms

can create pipelines that enable true continuous delivery (CD).
The typical detours you'll encounter during modernization no
longer have to derail you.

These benefits go beyond user-facing services. They also help

you construct the frameworks that make data architectures
effective: the tools that collect and expose metadata.

Platforms enable more visible Infrastructure as Code (IaC)

practices. Developers can create data pipelines and complex
structures with less cognitive load. By making incremental
changes, they facilitate seamless, more consistent
optimization.

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 Leveraging AI-driven Solutions
for Coding With Data
Using data is a great start, but you can't afford tunnel vision.
Cultivating perspective is vital to taking the next step: refining
data into useful information — knowledge.

Hyper-contextualized AI code assistants like StackSpot AI ease

this journey. They can customize your company's
or team's development experience by leveraging your stacks
and code generated from your internal knowledge sources.
Say goodbye to generic suggestions.

Integrating data into an application or service correctly

is challenging. Simple oversights like failing to sanitize
information can lead to incorrect conclusions — or worse,
cause financial losses in production code.

Code assistants that understand context engineers into

unexplored territory. Instead of gambling whether you're
choosing the right solution when working with a new API
or interface, you can ask for help. Frameworks, patterns,
and tendencies aren't as challenging to master with a guide.

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 StackSpot AI helps engineers make the mental shift. It offers
gentle nudges in the right direction, like watching for code
smells, suggesting readable snippets, and helping with testing.
As a result, your developers can be creative problem-solvers
and still live up to your organizational standards.

How to Implement Data-Driven

Decision-Making With Your
Developer Platform
App modernization needs a definite, clearly defined goal.
Establish performance indicators beforehand and measure
your transition throughout. Don't wait until after your updated
app goes live.

Your Developer Platform is the gateway to discovering and

leveraging knowledge. Prioritize these actionable steps:

1. Build data enablement tools early. Your entire organization

can benefit from ready, accurate information. Democratizing
data access with dashboards, APIs, and interfaces gives
every stakeholder the tools to make better choices. The data
your services ingest is fair game, but so is the performance
feedback they generate! A Developer Platform is an excellent
environment for centralizing tools and distributing them.

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 1.
2. Identify automatable actions. Your data architecture
shouldn't demand lots of manual labor. You shouldn't have to
create every pipeline or API test environment by hand.
Poll your engineers and data architects to find where they
spend the most time. Then, identify which solutions are
duplication-worthy and automate them.
A Developer Platform is the ideal place to bring together
these automated actions.

3. Optimize every workflow. Your Developer Platform can refine

more than just how you write code. Create team,
environment, and technology management workspaces.
You'll free up valuable mental bandwidth for developing
services.

4. Unify your knowledge processes. Use your Developer

Platform to establish a sole source of operational truth.
Set up documentation managers and service catalogs
to promote adoption. You'll optimize onboarding, ensure
organizational continuity, and reduce future technical debt.

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 Conclusion
Modernization improves process efficiency and enhances
organizational performance. This voyage is long, but fostering
innovation with data architecture can keep you on the right path
— and your Developer Platform can keep you from running out
of gas before you reach the destination. For a cost-effective,
efficient, and less stressful journey, you'll start by building
a platform.

Discover how StackSpot EDP

and StackSpot AI can bring your
applications into the modern age.

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/stackspot @stackspot

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