Data Lakehouse Provider Databricks Expands Offerings with Acquisition of BladeBridge
In a move aimed at increasing revenue by offering lower cost and risk in migrating legacy data warehouses, Databricks has acquired data platform modernization software provider BladeBridge. The acquisition will enable Databricks to provide its customers with insights into the scope of conversion, configurable code transpiling, LLM-powered conversion, and easy validation of migrated systems.
BladeBridge's four major products - Analyzer, Converter, Data Recon module, and Studio - are expected to save enterprises "months of work" by automatically building a summary of all extract, transform, load (ETL) and database assets in just a few hours. The Analyzer provides a full report of the migration's scope and complexity, while also automatically conducting query testing between the rival database and Databricks SQL to identify discrepancies for early remediation.
The Converter starts converting the rival data warehouse into Databricks SQL by using a configuration-driven approach that is expected to account for differences between the legacy architecture and Databricks SQL. The companies emphasized that the approach ensures customers retain full ownership of the conversion patterns, so configurations can always be updated if new requirements emerge at later stages of the migration.
How Does BladeBridge Work?
BladeBridge uses an iterative process to accelerate the conversion process with configuration instructions. When unit tests fail for any component, the configuration files are simply adapted to resolve the errors. This approach is expected to account for all legacy ETL, SQL, and other code, making it a comprehensive solution for data warehouse migration.
The companies highlighted that BladeBridge's AI-driven conversions account for all legacy ETL, SQL, and other code, ensuring seamless migration to Databricks SQL. With its four major products - Analyzer, Converter, Data Recon module, and Studio - BladeBridge is expected to save enterprises time and resources in the data warehouse migration process.
Why Did Databricks Acquire BladeBridge?
Databricks aims to increase revenue by offering customers lower cost and risk in migrating legacy data warehouses. By acquiring BladeBridge, Databricks can provide its customers with a comprehensive solution for data warehouse migration, making it easier for them to move from rival data warehouses, such as Teradata and Snowflake.
BladeBridge has strong ties with system integrators, such as Accenture and Capgemini, and has proven deployments across "hundreds of customers." The company claims that its AI-based approach helps migrate to at least 20 different data warehouses and ETL tools 50% faster than traditional approaches.
Several enterprises have successfully migrated to Databricks using BladeBridge's services. Thomas International used BladeBridge to move from Snowflake to Databricks' Data Intelligence Platform, gaining a 40% increase in development productivity. VGZ's migration to Databricks using BladeBridge resulted in a 50% reduction in data product time-to-market.
Databricks Future Roadmap and Plans
Without specifying a particular date, Databricks plans to make BladeBridge and its related products freely available to enterprises and partners. The company aims to scale BladeBridge expertise to other system integrators, making it easier for customers to migrate to Databricks.
Databricks also has plans to reach a $3 billion revenue run rate and become free cash flow positive in the fourth quarter ending January 31, 2025. The acquisition of BladeBridge comes after Databricks closed its $15 billion Series J financing round, which saw new and existing investors invest $10 billion.
The company had said that it would use the new capital towards building new AI products, acquisitions, and expansion of its international go-to-market operations while providing liquidity. With its current valuation of $62 billion, Databricks has been acquiring companies to expand its offerings and provide comprehensive solutions for data warehouse migration.
Databricks Acquisition History
Last year in March, Databricks acquired Boston-based Lilac AI to help enterprises explore and use their unstructured data for building generative AI-based applications. In June 2023, the company acquired LLM and model-training software provider MosaicML for $1.3 billion to boost its generative AI offerings.
With the acquisition of BladeBridge, Databricks continues to expand its offerings in the data lakehouse market, providing comprehensive solutions for customers looking to migrate from rival data warehouses. The company's focus on innovation and expansion is expected to make it a leader in the industry.