Teradata unveils open approach to aid Apache Iceberg, Delta Lake OTFs

Teradata has unveiled a cutting-edge open and connected approach to support open table formats (OTFs) Apache Iceberg and Linux Foundation Delta Lake. The strategy is in line with industry momentum towards open-source technologies and provides unmatched customer choice in data management. It heralds a future-ready model that facilitates businesses to implement a dynamic data strategy with matchless agility and flexibility for executing Trusted AI at a significant scale.

This innovation adds a profound futuristic element to Teradata's next-generation, cloud-native analytics and data platform for AI, known as VantageCloud Lake, and Teradata AI Unlimited, an on-demand and cloud-native AI/ML engine. Teradata AI Unlimited is set to be made publicly available in a preview mode on both AWS and Azure Marketplaces from Q2 2024. Teradata's fully open and connected strategy aims to wipe out barriers in the pursuit of modernising data strategies, thereby accelerating the application of Trusted AI.

Open Table Formats revolutionise proprietary data storage, transitioning to a more flexible data storage model that can be utilised across platforms. Teradata's neutral OTF support and open catalogue integration enable the platform to read various catalogues with predictable execution. Hillary Ashton, Chief Product Officer at Teradata, reiterates, "This is especially critical as companies work to incorporate Trusted AI into their ecosystems because an open platform like ours is intended to deliver massive benefits – accelerated innovation, improved productivity and more – but with robust support for the guardrails required for trust, like transparency and explainability."

According to David Menninger, Executive Director at Ventana Research, "In today's data landscape, we're seeing wide adoption of open table formats with 51% of organisations actively adopting Delta tables and 27% adopting Apache Iceberg." This burgeoning trend accentuates the industry's focus on a single datum source and the capacity to engage multiple engines against that datum. He adds, "Teradata's commitment to open table formats empowers customers to combine low-cost storage with enterprise performance and capabilities."

Teradata's industry-leading platform provides dedicated services for Apache Iceberg and Linux Foundation Delta Lake OTFs, offering full support for cross-read and cross-write data stored in various OTFs. This interoperability is expanded to AWS Glue, Unity, and Apache Hive catalogues and works in multi-cloud and multi-data lake environments, delivering a consolidated, harmonised data experience to Teradata customers without the need to relocate or transform data.

Teradata AI Unlimited, a fully open and connected on-demand and cloud-native AI/ML engine, now extends its support to OTF. It is designed to render AI innovation faster, easier, and cheaper. Also, it includes the comprehensive capabilities of Teradata's leading ClearScape Analytics, aimed at providing businesses with the transparency, explainability, and repeatability necessary for Trusted AI.

OTF support is slated to be available for VantageCloud Lake and AI Unlimited on AWS and Azure in June 2024. Teradata AI Unlimited will be purchasable in Q2 as a public preview on the AWS and Azure Marketplaces. New integrations with third-party tools like Airbyte Cloud, Apache Airflow, and dbt (data build tool) are now also available.