2 Is Data Mesh right for you?
Chapter 2 from Data Mesh in Action by Jacek Majchrzak, Sven Balnojan, and Marian Siwiak
This chapter covers
- How to decide whether you should introduce Data Mesh to your organization
- Decision drivers to consider before choosing a data architecture
- Data Mesh compared to other popular data architectures
- The steps for transforming your organization architecture into the Data Mesh
In the first chapter we explained to you what the Data Mesh is and why you should consider implementing it in your company. In this chapter, we will answer two other essential questions:
- Should I implement Data Mesh in my business, i.e., what are Data Mesh drivers?
- How much effort does it take to implement Data Mesh, i.e., would benefits outweigh the effort of its implementation?
The presence of the first question may surprise you in the context of this book. Data Mesh has become one of the hottest buzzwords in the industry. Many started to implement it without considering if it fits their organizations, or without considering all requirements and ramifications. We observed many similar rushes on patterns or practices in the past, like microservices or agile. Many of these ended up pretty badly, and people started to blame these patterns or practices afterward. The truth is, there is no silver bullet, and every pattern or practice has its area of applicability, and they come with trade-offs. Treat Data Mesh as yet another tool in your toolbox.