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Databricks Tools

Databricks Launches Lakeflow Connect to Simplify Enterprise Data Ingestion

San Francisco, [April 2, 2025] – Databricks has taken a major step toward streamlining enterprise data integration with the general availability of Lakeflow Connect, its new low-code/no-code connector system. The initial release features preconfigured integrations with Salesforce and Workday, with plans to expand support to additional SaaS platforms, databases, and file sources in the coming months. Simplifying the Data Ingestion Challenge Data ingestion—the process of moving data from source systems into analytics environments—has long been a complex, resource-intensive task for enterprises. Traditional approaches require stitching together multiple tools (such as Apache Kafka or CDC solutions) and maintaining custom pipelines, often leading to scalability issues and high operational overhead. Lakeflow Connect aims to eliminate these pain points by providing: “Customers need this data, but before Lakeflow Connect, they were forced to rely on third-party tools that often failed at scale—or build custom solutions,” said Michael Armbrust, Distinguished Software Engineer at Databricks. “Now, ingestion is point-and-click within Databricks.” Why Salesforce and Workday First? The choice of initial connectors reflects the growing demand for real-time, structured data to power AI and generative AI applications. According to Kevin Petrie, Analyst at BARC U.S., more than 90% of AI leaders are experimenting with structured data, and nearly two-thirds use real-time feeds for model training. “Salesforce and Workday provide exactly the type of data needed for real-time ML and GenAI,” Petrie noted. “Databricks is smart to simplify access in this way.” Competitive Differentiation While other vendors offer connector solutions (e.g., Qlik’s Connector Factory), Lakeflow Connect stands out through: “Serverless compute is quietly important,” said Donald Farmer, Principal at TreeHive Strategy. “It’s not just about scalability—rapid startup times are critical for reducing pipeline latency.” The Road Ahead Databricks has already outlined plans to expand Lakeflow Connect with connectors for: Though the company hasn’t committed to a timeline, Armbrust hinted at upcoming announcements at the Data + AI Summit in June. Broader Vision: Democratizing Data Engineering Beyond ingestion, Databricks is focused on unifying the data engineering lifecycle. “Historically, you needed deep Spark or Scala expertise to build production-grade pipelines,” Armbrust said. “Now, we’re enabling SQL users—or even UI-only users—to achieve the same results.” Looking further ahead, Petrie suggested Databricks could enhance cross-team collaboration for agentic AI development, integrating Lakeflow with Mosaic AI and MLflow to bridge data, model, and application lifecycles. The Bottom LineLakeflow Connect marks a strategic move by Databricks to reduce friction in data pipelines—addressing a key bottleneck for enterprises scaling AI initiatives. As the connector ecosystem grows, it could further solidify Databricks’ position as an end-to-end platform for data and AI. For more details, visit Databricks.com. Key Takeaways:✅ Now Available: Salesforce & Workday connectors✅ Serverless, governed, and scalable ingestion✅ Future integrations with Google Analytics, ServiceNow, and more✅ June previews expected at Data + AI Summit Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Salesforce Enhances Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Engine Data science and analytics are rapidly becoming standard features in enterprise applications, Read more

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Databricks Tools

Databricks Tools

Databricks recently introduced Databricks Apps, a toolkit designed to simplify AI and data application development. By integrating native development platforms and offering automatic provisioning of serverless compute, the toolkit enables customers to more easily develop and deploy applications. Databricks Apps builds on the existing capabilities of Mosaic AI, which allows users to integrate large language models (LLMs) with their enterprise’s proprietary data. However, the ability to develop interactive AI applications, such as generative AI chatbots, was previously missing. Databricks Apps addresses this gap, allowing developers to build and deploy custom applications entirely within the secure Databricks environment. According to Donald Farmer, founder and principal of TreeHive Strategy, Databricks Apps removes obstacles like the need to set up separate infrastructure for development and deployment, making the process easier and more efficient. The new features allow companies to go beyond implementing AI/ML models and create differentiated applications that leverage their unique data sets. Kevin Petrie, an analyst at BARC U.S., highlighted the significance of Databricks Apps in helping companies develop custom AI applications, which are essential for maintaining a competitive edge. Databricks, founded in 2013, was one of the pioneers of the data lakehouse storage format, and over the last two years, it has expanded its platform to focus on AI and machine learning (ML) capabilities. The company’s $1.3 billion acquisition of MosaicML in June 2023 was a key milestone in building its AI environment. Databricks has since launched DBRX, its own large language model, and introduced further functionalities through product development. Databricks Apps, now available in public preview on AWS and Azure, advances these AI development capabilities, simplifying the process of building applications within a single platform. Developers can use frameworks like Dash, Flask, Gradio, Shiny, and Streamlit, or opt for integrated development environments (IDEs) like Visual Studio Code or PyCharm. The toolkit also provides prebuilt Python templates to accelerate development. Additionally, applications can be deployed and managed directly in Databricks, eliminating the need for external infrastructures. Databricks Apps includes security features such as access control and data lineage through the Unity Catalog. Farmer noted that the support for popular developer frameworks and the automatic provisioning of serverless compute could significantly impact the AI development landscape by reducing the complexity of deploying data architectures. While competitors like AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft, and Snowflake have also made AI a key focus, Farmer pointed out that Databricks’ integration of AI tools into a unified platform sets it apart. Databricks Apps further enhances this competitive advantage. Despite the added capabilities of Databricks Apps, Petrie cautioned that developing generative AI applications still requires a level of expertise in data, AI, and the business domain. While Databricks aims to make AI more accessible, users will still need substantial knowledge to effectively leverage these tools. Databricks’ vice president of product management, Shanku Niyogi, explained that the new features in Databricks Apps were driven by customer feedback. As enterprise interest in AI grows, customers sought easier ways to develop and deploy internal data applications in a secure environment. Looking ahead, Databricks plans to continue investing in simplifying AI application development, with a focus on enhancing Mosaic AI and expanding its collaborative AI partner ecosystem. Farmer suggested that the company should focus on supporting nontechnical users and emerging AI technologies like multimodal models, which will become increasingly important in the coming years. The introduction of Databricks Apps marks a significant step forward in Databricks’ AI and machine learning strategy, offering users a more streamlined approach to building and deploying AI applications. Like Related Posts Salesforce OEM AppExchange Expanding its reach beyond CRM, Salesforce.com has launched a new service called AppExchange OEM Edition, aimed at non-CRM service providers. Read more The Salesforce Story In Marc Benioff’s own words How did salesforce.com grow from a start up in a rented apartment into the world’s Read more Salesforce Jigsaw Salesforce.com, a prominent figure in cloud computing, has finalized a deal to acquire Jigsaw, a wiki-style business contact database, for Read more Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Salesforce Enhances Service Cloud with AI-Driven Intelligence Engine Data science and analytics are rapidly becoming standard features in enterprise applications, Read more

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