Below is the infographic ‘Strategic Comparison of Data Mesh and Data Fabric’, a document that provides a high-level summary of the key differences and emphasises the highest-risk scenarios for both approaches.
To understand the scope of this infographic, it is important to know that it is based on the market experience of Gartner clients and the broader experience described by communities of interest. At the time of publication, less than 1.5% of the global IT market had direct experience with either approach but already anticipated exponential growth in their level of adoption over the next 3-5 years.
By their own definition, Data Mesh and Data Fabric are two concepts linked to data architecture and infrastructure that aim to improve the management and integration of data between different systems, applications and users. Most organisations think they have to choose between Data Fabric and Data Mesh, but according to Gartner (and we think so too), this is a false dichotomy and should be avoided: they work both separately and together, although it is true that the value they can bring together is much greater than separately: Data Fabric approaches the challenges from a point of view closer to the technology platform (technology as a medium) and Data Mesh is more oriented towards the vision of what our data architecture needs to look like in order to generate data products (the ultimate goal is the creation and management of data products to generate value for the organisation).
Organisations use data to generate value for their business but they have to do it not only effectively but also in a secure, controlled, and efficient way so, beyond the technicalities, the goal has to be to create a data ecosystem that is business-oriented and built on a solid IT foundation.
