Whether it’s recent news or just new to you, every two weeks the Data Planet serves up fascinating insights and resources from the data analytics and BI world.
Our snack-size summaries skip straight to the point.
This week’s edition of the Data Planet includes:
- What’s New in Dataflows?
- How to Strengthen Your Company’s Data Literacy
- Deepen the Value Chain for Geospatial Earth Imagery on Cloud Using Azure Orbital
- Software Spotlight: Postman
What’s New in Dataflows?
Dataflows is Microsoft’s effort at a self-service data warehouse. The high-level logical diagram is [SourceData] -> [Power Query] -> [Azure Data Lake Gen2]. The data is stored in CSV files with an accompanying JSON file that describes the schema. You can then chain dataflows together to create complex ETL graphs.
Dataflows was launched a couple years ago, and it seems adoption hasn’t been quick. Microsoft recently released a major update to the service. As with most things self-service, dataflows require proper governance, or they could become a mess.
Read "What’s New in Dataflows"
Read “Intro to Dataflows & Self-Service Data Prep”
How to Strengthen You Company’s Data Literacy
Just because you have data doesn’t mean people understand how to use it to make data-driven decisions. Having the right tools isn’t enough either.
This super-quick read explains how to increase data literacy in a step-by-step guide, what data literacy should look like, and how to create a plan that promotes adoption.
Read “How to Strengthen Your Company’s Data Literacy”
Deepen the Value Chain for Geospatial Earth Imagery on Cloud Using Azure Orbital
In the “not terribly practical, but cool” category we have this article. Azure Orbital is a means of downloading data from satellites. They call it ground station as a service. You get access to a satellite dish network, signal modems, and a direct connection to Azure data centers. Meaning they handle the logistics of getting data from your satellite to your Azure account.
If you know anyone with a spare satellite, a low earth orbit capable rocket, and good standing with the appropriate regulatory agencies, this could be something fun to play with.
Read “Deepen the Value Chain for Geospatial Earth Imagery: Azure Orbital”
Read “What is Azure Orbital?”
Software Worth Sharing: Postman
Postman is a graphical user interface for interacting with REST APIs. The free version should suffice for most people’s needs, but you need to register. Even if you’ve been using Postman for years, you’ll still discover new features.
Get the documentation on Postman
