More and more companies are managing messages and events in real time using tools like Apache Kafka.
Kafka is used when real-time data streaming and event-driven architectures with scalable data processing are essential. It can benefit the management of microservices, real-time monitoring and alerts, and many other use cases.
Kafka is used in financial services, retail and e-commerce, healthcare, telecom, IoT, gaming, energy, transportation, and social media, and these are just a few examples.
But can we benefit from combining Apache Kafka with data virtualization and the Denodo Platform?
The answer is “Absolutely yes, and let’s see how.”
Apache Kafka Meets the Denodo Platform
It’s true that Apache Kafka and the Denodo Platform are two completely distinct technologies but they can be used together to create powerful data integration and streaming solutions while complementing each other.
First of all, the Denodo Platform provides a feature called “Kafka Custom Wrapper” that enables you to create a Kafka connection within the Denodo Platform. With this feature, the Denodo Platform can use Kafka topic data and embed it in virtual views and data models, combining it with other objects from different data sources (databases, data lakes, files, etc.). This helps to provide a unified data access layer that includes real-time data streaming. The “Kafka Custom Wrapper” acts as a data source adapter, enabling you to treat Kafka topics like any other data source when creating virtual visualizations for querying and analyzing data.
You can also configure a Kafka Listener within the Denodo Platform that can listen continuously on the various Kafka topics, and when a message arrives, in real time, it can trigger the execution of a query, procedures, or functions, or it can write files, recalling Denodo Scheduler jobs while updating the cache or refreshing summaries.
As messages are produced in Kafka topics, the Denodo Platform’s Kafka Listener consumes these messages and updates the virtual views in real time (while performing any required action). This means that users querying virtual views will always see data updated by Kafka events.
The combination of Kafka with the Denodo Platform enables organizations to create flexible, efficient, real-time data architectures. Kafka receives events in real time while the Denodo Platform exposes the data, aggregating it with other data, in a unified view with all the benefits of a data virtualization platform, in real time. This combination is particularly useful in scenarios where real-time data access and integration are critical for decision-making, analytics, and event-based processes.
The Benefits of this Combination
Here are just some of the many benefits of using Kafka and the Denodo Platform, together:
- Real-Time Data Integration: Kafka provides real-time data streaming capabilities, enabling you to acquire and process data as it is produced. The Denodo Platform complements this by enabling real-time access to integrated data from various sources, making it available for analysis and reporting.
- Unified Data Access: Many organizations store data that is distributed across on-premises and cloud environments which, with the help of Kafka, can stream data from both environments. With the Denodo Platform, it is possible to unify this hybrid data, providing a semantic layer for accessing and analyzing data, regardless of its location. In other words, the Denodo Platform creates a unified view of data from multiple sources, abstracting the complexities of underlying systems. Kafka streams can then be integrated into this unified view, providing an easy way to access data in real time.
- Streamlined Data Provisioning: Kafka simplifies the process of ingesting data in real time, while the Denodo Platform simplifies the process of provisioning data to users. Together, they provide an end-to-end solution for efficiently distributing data from source to end users.
- Scalability and Performance: Kafka’s scalability and high throughput capabilities ensure that it can handle diverse real-time data streaming needs. The Denodo Platform, as documented, can also scale quickly to process and query data from numerous sources without compromising performance.
- Real-Time Analytics: The combination of Kafka and the Denodo Platform enables real-time analytics by enabling users to access and analyze streaming data alongside historical data in a unified manner.
- Flexible Data Consumption: The Denodo Platform offers flexibility in data consumption. Users can query and analyze data using familiar tools and interfaces, regardless of whether the data is real-time or historical.
Full Stream Ahead!
The integration of Kafka with the Denodo Platform enables you to create a flexible and efficient data ecosystem that supports real-time data access and integration from multiple sources, making it valuable for decision making and data-driven analytics across the organization, while maintaining a unified and structured view, all in real time.
