My first submit made the case for what a semantic layer can deliver to the trendy enterprise: a single supply of fact accessible to everybody who wants it—BI groups in Tableau and Energy BI, Excel-loving analysts, software integrations by way of API, and the AI brokers now proliferating throughout organizations—all pulling from the identical ruled, performant metric layer. The promise is compelling. However what occurs when organizations truly construct and deploy one? To search out out, I interviewed a number of early adopters who’ve moved semantic layers from idea to manufacturing. 4 themes emerged from these conversations: some stunning, some predictable, and some that can sound acquainted to anybody who’s ever shipped knowledge infrastructure.
The primary theme: Semantic layers are exhibiting up in surprising locations. Most dialogue positions them as enterprise-level infrastructure—a single location capturing all firm metrics for centralized entry and governance. That’s nonetheless the first use case. However practitioners are additionally deploying semantic layers for narrower functions. One group, for instance, constructed their semantic layer particularly to energy a focused chatbot software—letting customers question knowledge conversationally with none conventional BI instruments within the combine. No Energy BI, no Excel, simply an AI interface pulling from ruled metrics. The rationale for these smaller deployments is simple: Semantic layers ship excessive accuracy on structured knowledge, even with light-weight fashions. The core worth drivers stay velocity, accuracy, and entry—however organizations are discovering extra methods to extract that worth than the enterprise-wide imaginative and prescient suggests.
The second theme: AI is the explanation organizations are transferring now. The opposite advantages nonetheless matter—single supply of fact, multitool compatibility, true self-serve entry, price discount in cloud environments—however once I requested practitioners why they prioritized a semantic layer at present somewhat than two years in the past, the reply was constant: AI. Whether or not it was a particular chatbot undertaking or enabling AI-driven analytics at scale, AI necessities have been the catalyst. This tracks with what I mentioned in my first submit: Structured knowledge alone isn’t sufficient for dependable AI analytics. Including semantic context—area descriptions, mannequin definitions, object relationships—dramatically improves accuracy. The info trade has observed. Semantic layers have moved from area of interest infrastructure to strategic precedence: Snowflake, Databricks, dbt Labs, and Microsoft have all made vital investments up to now yr.
The third theme: Semantic layers cut back work for builders whereas making trusted knowledge simpler to entry. A number of practitioners cited the worth of sustaining metrics and enterprise logic in a single location. Any analyst is aware of the ache of metric sprawl—management requests a change to a core KPI, and also you uncover it’s been outlined a dozen other ways throughout databases, BI instruments, and spreadsheets scattered by means of the group. The semantic layer eliminates the chase. One engineering lead described a monetary metric that had collected over 60 variations throughout the corporate. After deploying the semantic layer, there was one.
Need Radar delivered straight to your inbox? Be part of us on Substack. Enroll right here.
Entry simplifies too. As an alternative of provisioning controls throughout warehouses, BI workspaces, particular person dashboards, and cloud storage areas, customers join on to the semantic layer and pull knowledge into the device of their alternative. One group was shocked to seek out that after deployment, the commonest entry level was Excel. However with the semantic layer, that wasn’t an issue: The info served in Excel was equivalent to what powered their AI instruments, Energy BI dashboards, and software integrations by way of API.
The fourth theme will sound acquainted to anybody who’s shipped knowledge infrastructure: The most important problem isn’t the know-how—it’s the information itself. Each practitioner I spoke with recognized the identical bottleneck: consistency, availability, and accuracy of the underlying knowledge. Engineers and analysts can construct the semantic layer, however they will’t will clear knowledge into existence. Success requires shut collaboration with enterprise stakeholders, clear possession of metrics, and management alignment to prioritize the work. None of that’s new. However regardless of these challenges, everybody I interviewed reached the identical conclusion: The semantic layer is well worth the effort.
Semantic layer know-how remains to be early. The instruments, distributors, and greatest practices are evolving quick—what works at present could look completely different in a yr. However these conversations revealed a transparent sign beneath the noise: semantic layers have gotten essential AI infrastructure. The practitioners I spoke with aren’t experimenting anymore. They’re operationalizing. And regardless of the anticipated challenges round knowledge high quality and organizational alignment, they’re seeing actual returns: fewer metric variations to keep up, easier entry controls, and AI instruments that really produce trusted solutions.
My first article made the case for what a semantic layer may very well be. This one requested what occurs when organizations truly construct them. The reply: It’s exhausting, it’s price it, and for corporations severe about AI-driven analytics, the semantic layer is not a nice-to-have. It’s the inspiration.
