Folding Data #11

An Interesting Read: From Data Driven to Driving Data

Data Engineering is perhaps one of the most definitive jobs of our generation, at least in tech. It's also the fastest-growing job in tech. Most companies have trouble hiring Data Engineers, often because they define the role poorly. No one agrees on the exact meaning of the role. Still, one way or another, Data Engineers are making the application of data possible by making it usable in ML or BI and delivering it to where it's needed. This opinionated and passionate article gives an insider view on the problem.

I am ready to get real about Data Engineering

Tool of the Week: Enso

Actually, Enso is not a tool. It's a hybrid programming language that offers a new, visual+textual way to create data applications in a functional way. When I first saw Enso, I thought it's weird. But weird can be powerful! As PG puts it in his Weird Languages essay: "if you want to expand your concept of what programming can be, one way to do it is by learning weird languages. [...] In the process of learning how to say things you couldn't previously say, you'll probably be learning how to think things you couldn't previously think."

Say "Hello World" in Enso

What I am Proud of

Datafold is now SOC 2 compliant!

Being a data tool vendor in 2021 is very different from when I was at the other end of table five to six years ago - the scope of analytics rapidly expanded from clicks and pageviews into some of the most sensitive data about our lives. With legislation such as HIPAA and GDPR/CCPA, companies and their Data Teams assumed much greater responsibility for the data they manage. Understanding the criticality of data security, we embarked on a 4-month journey toward SOC 2 compliance.

I am proud of the Datafold team and our Engineering Manager, Gerard Toonstra, who meticulously developed and implemented policies and procedures that allowed us to become SOC 2 compliant. We also introduced security.datafold.com, where you can easily learn more about our security status.

If you're thinking about using Datafold at your company, contact us and we'll send you a copy of the report.

Read about Datafold's SOC 2 journey

Chart Fetish

Data is supposed to help us make evidence-based decisions. But truth is, sometimes we use it simply to support our cognitive biases. These could take many forms, and you should know your enemies, so check out the full-size version here.

Before You Go

Yes, more on data engineers. From Reddit.

‍