Breaking the Silo: How Events Transform Data Platform Architecture
A data platform built solely on database architecture inevitably becomes a silo. Databases are inherently inward-facing - they store state and answer queries, but they don’t naturally communicate outward or respond to the outside world.
Without events, information gets trapped. The platform becomes a dead end where data flows in through manual integration work but doesn’t flow out naturally. External systems can’t easily push information in, forcing awkward API polling or batch imports. Internal modules create tangled dependencies trying to coordinate. Other teams build workarounds and duplicate data in their own systems. The platform gradually becomes disconnected from the actual flow of business activity.
Events prevent this isolation by making the platform permeable. External systems push information in through webhooks and event streams. Internal modules operate independently while coordinating through shared event flows. Other systems consume data as events rather than constantly hitting APIs or requiring extract jobs. Changes broadcast naturally so downstream systems stay synchronized.
The database holds truth, but events make that truth accessible and actionable across organizational boundaries. They transform a locked repository into a living participant in an organization’s information ecosystem - something that breathes, receiving signals from everywhere it needs to and coordinating behavior both internally and externally.
An event-driven layer isn’t optional for modern data platforms. Without it, what’s been built isn’t a platform at all - it’s a very sophisticated silo.