Who's ready for Blockchain in Finance?

USB celebrated its 22nd birthday this month! The USB (short for Universal Serial Bus) was a game changer when it was introduced. And it is now THE standard for connecting our devices (computers, ipads, phones...etc) and powering them.When Dave Mariani first introduced the idea for AtScale...the temptation to call it the "USB of Big Data" was very strong...We decided to not go for it early because, at the time, it was just an idea.BUT a lot has changed since Dave launched AtScale! AtScale has a large community of customers, partners and supporters who believe in the concept and have embraced the approached. Large mainstream publications like CIO Magazine are now urging tech leaders to look into the concept of a "Universal Semantic Layer for Data".Do you feel you know what a "Universal Semantic Layer for Data" is ?! Well, if you don't, you're in for a treat. AtScale co-founder and CTO, Matt Baird, is running a power session next week to talk about the concept and the technical capabilities that define it. You can sign up for it here.

Prepare yourself...and prepare your questions

In preparation for the online session with Matt, I suggest you check out his blog and the CIO Magazine I mentioned earlier...and that you prepare your questions. This session present a unique time for you to drill him on the topic!If you don't have time to read the blog or the mentioned article, here are some highlights to consider. I hope they help prepare you for the session! (btw - registrants will get access to the session recording immediately after it so if you don't have time to attend it live, register anyway!).

What's a semantic layer and how many do you need?!

I am a software engineer and I like abstractions. I like abstractions because done correctly an abstraction will factor complexity down to a level where I don’t have to spend any brain cycles thinking about it. Abstraction lets me work with a well thought out interface designed to let me accomplish more without having to always consider the system at a molecular level.It turns out business people also like abstraction. This shouldn’t be surprising as businesses model complex real world concepts where the details matter. From calculation to contextual meaning, abstraction helps with correctness and understanding.How many semantic layers do you need? (Hint: The correct answer is 1). Remember, the semantic layer is an abstraction and while having multiple abstractions for the same concept is sometimes right and useful, most of the time it goes against the engineering mantra of DRY (Don’t Repeat Yourself).

Why and Where does a semantic layer help?!

Matt's take: The Semantic Layer isn’t a single abstraction, it is a grouping of abstractions used to address different problems. Semantic Layer allows for improvements in the following: