#84: The True Value of a Data Presentation Layer
Mar 26, 2025As data engineers, we love comparing different tools.
And talking about technical things.
But at the end of the day, our job boils down to delivering insights to a business.
The ultimate goal is to help stakeholders make better decisions so they can grow the businesses we work at.
How we get there isn’t always as important as we think it is.
With that perspective in mind, in today's video we're going to talk about one strategic element you can add to your data pipeline to better reach that goal.
And that is creating a Presentation Layer.
This is something I've covered in other videos, but want to talk about more in detail today.
In particular, we’ll talk about it’s primary value, different approaches you can take, as well as considerations to keep in mind as you go about adding this to your own project.
Key Topics We'll Cover:
- The purpose (and value) of a Presentation Layer
- Common approaches teams take to deliver it
- Things to consider before settling on a final design
Enjoy.
When you're ready, here are 3 ways I can help you further:
1. The Modern Engineer Playbook (Online Course): Master the art of building modern data architectures. Get an end-to-end blueprint for building simple, structured & scalable data pipelines with modern tools.Â
2. The Playbook for dbt™ (Online Course): Learn to build, automate & scale dbt™ with confidence. Discover common strategies teams follow, avoid costly rookie mistakes & get actionable tips based on real-world experience, not a textbook.
3. Consulting Services:Â Request to work 1:1 with Michael Kahan to help you and your team implement a modern data architecture with a simple, scalable structure.