Data clouds: big idea or buzzword? 

6.17.21

We're hearing the term "data cloud" more often. Popularized by Snowflake, it's catching on. Google Cloud, Oracle, Cloudera, and Pinecone Systems have all added data cloud to their vocabulary. 

What is a data cloud? Each vendor has its own take, but what all data clouds have in common is an all-encompassing data architecture and a business objective of putting more data and insights into the hands of more people. 

The database industry already has data warehouses, data lakes, and data fabrics. Are data clouds really new and different — or just a new catch phrase for data platforms we already use? 

I think of data clouds as being more comprehensive, providing a unified view of data across an enterprise. "It’s a holistic view of data, not just a platform or infrastructure," Sudhir Hasbe, product management leader for Google Cloud Data Analytics, said in a recent conversation. 

I discussed data clouds with Bob Evans on the Cloud Wars Live podcast, just published today. 

Listen to the podcast: Snowflake and the Data Cloud Phenomenon

Data clouds bridge data silos and enable more extensive data sharing. The components include data warehouses and other data stores, integration, replication, and data engineering, with end-to-end security and governance. 

Read my full analysis: Data Clouds: Tech's Next Big Innovation or Just Another Buzzword? 

What do you think about data clouds? I'd love to hear from you at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

John Foley, Editor