Bigger Data & Semantic Layers
As the world's data proliferates, semantic Layers are increasingly important and increasingly difficult to deliver and maintain.
A semantic layer is a business representation of data that offers a unified and consolidated view of data across an organization. It attempts to define the relationships between various data attributes and enable a unified business view that can be used for querying and deriving insights quickly and cost-effectively
The term "Semantic Layer" is a source of much confusion in data and analytics. Leaders may say things like "We need to define a semantic layer for our enterprise data". Others may argue that it already exists. Or that it will be too expensive.
Organizations struggle to arrive at a simple clear definition of what a semantic layer is much less how to enable it. Firms that do invest in semantic layer tools or solutions often find themselves saddled with expensive solutions that are underutilized and don't address the enterprise's most pressing concerns.
A key part of the problem stems from the fact that semantic layers mean different things to different people, depending on the context of their work.
To help with understanding the different ways semantic layers are conceptualized, here is a recommended reading list that covers Semantic Layers in the different contexts they are often used.
Data management:
- "What is a Semantic Layer?" by Adam Platt on Gartner: https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/what-is-a-semantic-layer/
- "Understanding the Semantic Layer in Business Intelligence" by Martin Doyle on DZone: https://dzone.com/articles/understanding-the-semantic-layer-in-business-intell
- "The Role of a Semantic Layer in a Data Warehouse Environment" by Alexander Pelov on Data Management and Warehousing: https://www.dmway.com/blog/the-role-of-a-semantic-layer-in-a-data-warehouse-environment/
Business intelligence and analytics:
- "What is a Semantic Layer in Business Intelligence?" by Matt Egan on TechTarget: https://searchbusinessanalytics.techtarget.com/definition/semantic-layer
- "Building a Semantic Layer for a Business Intelligence System" by B. Hafeez on Medium: https://medium.com/@bhups26/building-a-semantic-layer-for-a-business-intelligence-system-8a2c3d3aa326
- "Why a Semantic Layer is Critical to Self-Service Business Intelligence" by Rick Sherman on TechTarget: https://searchbusinessanalytics.techtarget.com/tip/Why-a-semantic-layer-is-critical-to-self-service-business-intelligence
Search engines:
- "What is a Semantic Search Engine?" on Dataversity: https://www.dataversity.net/what-is-a-semantic-search-engine/
- "The Anatomy of a Large-Scale Hypertextual Web Search Engine" by Sergey Brin and Lawrence Page on Stanford University: http://infolab.stanford.edu/~backrub/google.html
- "The Semantic Web, Explained" by Techopedia: https://www.techopedia.com/definition/30389/semantic-web
Web development:
- "The Benefits of Semantic HTML" by Lisa Dziuba on Flawless App Stories: https://medium.com/flawless-app-stories/the-benefits-of-semantic-html-e56212781ca3
- "Why You Should Use Semantic HTML" by Shay Howe on Treehouse: https://blog.teamtreehouse.com/use-semantic-html
- "The Case for Semantic HTML" by Bruce Lawson on Smashing Magazine: https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2011/11/the-case-for-semantic-html/
Software development:
- "Domain Driven Design: The Conceptual Model" by Martin Fowler: https://martinfowler.com/bliki/UbiquitousLanguage.html
- "The Semantic Layer and the Event Driven Architecture" by George Valiotis on Towards Data Science: https://towardsdatascience.com/the-semantic-layer-and-the-event-driven-architecture-8a7e0fb65f17
- "A Domain Specific Language (DSL) for Business Logic" by Mark Seemann on Pluralsight: https://www.pluralsight.com/courses/domain-specific-language-business-logic