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Data Platform

31 posts filed under Data Platform.

Mar 15, 2026 Technical Debt & Economics

The Acquisition Disaster - When Technical Debt Tanks a Deal

Due diligence found 15 "temporary" integrations from 2019 still running in production. The acquisition deal died that afternoon.

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Mar 8, 2026 MVP to Platform

The Series B Rescue - Making Data Investor-Ready in 10 Weeks

Due diligence will find your data problems before you do. One company found out the hard way.

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Mar 5, 2026 Data Architecture & Strategy

Data Platform Teams Are Becoming Product Teams

Nobody adopts a pipeline. They adopt a product. That's what most data teams still don't get.

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Mar 3, 2026 MVP to Platform

The Data Platform Scaling Checklist (When to Evolve)

Scaling too late costs you 6 months. Scaling too early costs you 18.

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Mar 2, 2026 Organizational Dynamics + Technical Debt & Economics

Parts Unlimited" Is Your Data Platform

The Phoenix Project described a company drowning in unplanned work. Gene Kim called it Parts Unlimited. You might recognize the patterns.

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Feb 20, 2026 Data Architecture & Strategy

Data Architecture Review - What's Actually Involved

A data architecture review uncovers hidden risks before they become expensive problems. Here's what mine covers and why most teams need one …

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Feb 20, 2026 Organizational Dynamics

Why Companies Hire a Data Architect Consultant (And When You Shouldn't)

You don't always need a data architect consultant. Here's how to know if you do, what to expect, and how to avoid hiring the wrong person.

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Feb 17, 2026 Organizational Dynamics

Data Product Operating Model

You wouldn't ship a software product without an owner, a roadmap, or a release process. Why do you treat your data differently?

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Feb 15, 2026 Technical Debt & Economics

The Second-System Effect in Data Platforms

Your second data platform will be overengineered. Fred Brooks predicted this in 1975.

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Feb 13, 2026 Technical Debt & Economics

Cost-Aware Data Engineering - FinOps for Data

Your data team doesn't know what their pipelines cost. That's the first problem.

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