Data Modernization

What is Azure Databricks, Why do we need it, and it’s Features

7 July 2020

Introducing-Azure-Databricks

In this digital world, the prevalence and accumulation of huge volumes of data are natural. Researchers have figured that big data is rapidly doubling in size, and they have also estimated that the volume of big data will reach 44 zettabytes or 44 trillion gigabytes by 2020. However, deriving business value out of this massive unstructured data is a major pain point to any organization. But, as we all know, every challenge has a solution. Inferring insights, intelligence, and analytics from big data is what analytics tools are for. Standing tall amongst these powerful analytics tools is Azure Databricks. It is the cloud-optimized version of Apache Spark and is one of the best analytics platforms available on the Azure Cloud.

What is Azure Databricks?

Azure Databricks is an Apache Spark-based analytics platform built on top of Microsoft Azure. Entirely based on Apache Spark, Azure Databricks is used to process large workloads of data that allows collaboration between data scientists, data engineers, and business analysts to derive actionable insights with one-click setup, streamlined workflows, and an interactive workspace.

Why Azure Databricks?

To be more transparent and crisp, there are four reasons why Azure Databricks is a great analytics tool for your big data workloads.

  • It makes big data collaboration and integration easier with native integration, useful data analysis, and storage tools on the Microsoft Cloud platform.
  • Apache Spark is fast and we all know that. Being an Apache-Spark based platform it is fast and optimized for maximum performance.
  • Being fully managed by Azure, the system is predesigned, and there is no need for maintenance; you can easily scale up and down, along with a ‘drag and drop’ interface.
  • It is the safest big data analytics platform that uses the enterprise-grade compliance and security available on the Microsoft Azure platform.

Features of Azure Databricks

We have seen what Azure Databricks is and the reasons why it is the best analytics tool. Now, let us move further with a few more details about the analytics tool. Here are some of the rich features of Azure Databricks,

Optimized Apache Spark environment: It has a secure and reliable production environment that is managed and supported by Spark experts. It allows you to seamlessly integrate with open source libraries by providing the latest versions of Apache Spark. It can provide you a zero-management cloud platform that includes fully managed Spark clusters, interactive workspace for exploration and visualization, and a platform for powering your favorite Spark-based applications.

Interactive workspace: You can collaborate effectively and boost productivity by using interactive workspace and notebook experience. This interactive workspace feature enables data scientists, data engineers, and business analysts to collaborate and work efficiently. The collaborative and integrated environment of Azure Databricks streamlines the process of exploring data, prototyping, and running data-driven applications in Spark.

Databricks Runtime: Natively built for the Azure cloud, the serverless option helps data scientists iterate quickly as a team by completely removing the infrastructure complexity and the need for specialized expertise to set up and configure your data infrastructure.

Machine Learning Integration: Through the rich integration with Power BI, it allows you to discover and share your impactful insights quickly and easily. You can Access advanced automated machine learning capabilities using the integrated Azure Machine Learning to identify suitable algorithms and hyperparameters swiftly. It also provides a central registry for your experiments, machine learning pipelines, and models.

Now is always the right time!!

By now, you’d have realized that your search for the best big data analytics tool/solution ends here. Azure Databricks is a versatile service by Microsoft that can allow you to analyze big data workloads more efficiently. Being a Microsoft Gold Partner with two decades of experience in modernizing legacy applications for our clients across various portfolios, PreludeSys can help you find the right solution for your business. If you would like to more about our Microsoft Azure services, Talk to Us!!

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