Session
Modernizing Investment Analytics Through Data Driven Architecture
Overview
| Experience | In Person |
|---|---|
| Track | Data Engineering & Streaming |
| Industry | Financial Services |
| Technologies | Databricks SQL, Lakeflow, Unity Catalog |
| Skill Level | Beginner |
Transforming a 30-year-old monolithic analytics platform is as much about mindset as it is about technology. Our legacy, batch-based system—with its rigid relational model and high maintenance costs—could no longer keep up with growing data, client demands, or innovation needs. In this session, we share how we reimagined investment analytics with a cloud-native architecture modern ingestion and ETL pipelines using Spark Declarative Pipelines (SDP), dimensional modeling, and a modern OLAP engine. We’ll highlight key design decisions, migration patterns, and how we preserved trusted reporting while improving data quality, transparency, and self-service. Attendees will learn practical strategies to de-risk modernization, accelerate delivery, and unlock new analytical capabilities without disrupting mission-critical operations.
Session Speakers
Russ Houberg
/Sr. Solutions Architect
Databricks
Jacob Steiger
/Investment Performance Product Manager
Northern Trust