TL;DR:
- Databricks has acquired Okera, a startup that provides secure data access at scale for data teams.
- Okera’s technology offers an intuitive, AI-powered interface to simplify data visibility and transparency.
- Traditional data governance approaches focusing on narrow layers are inadequate for AI and machine learning models.
- Okera helps organizations solve data privacy and governance challenges and addresses governance concerns specific to AI.
- Okera’s tags enable data governance stakeholders to assess compliance and create no-code access policies for better data control.
- Databricks is testing new governance technology that supports arbitrary workloads without sacrificing performance.
- The acquisition allows Databricks to provide secure, scalable, and simple governance for AI and data assets.
Main AI News:
Databricks, the data and AI solutions provider, has recently acquired Okera, a startup that specializes in secure data access at scale. Although the acquisition amount remains undisclosed, Databricks claims that Okera’s solutions will help organizations solve data privacy and governance challenges.
The acquisition comes on the heels of Databricks’ release of Dolly 2.0, a large-language model that promises to democratize AI for the enterprise. As AI and machine learning models become more prevalent in the enterprise, traditional data governance approaches are proving inadequate. The massive growth of data assets, along with the rapid advancements in AI, make it unfeasible for any single company to establish comprehensive controls for state-of-the-art systems.
Okera’s technology offers an intuitive, AI-powered interface that can discover, classify, and tag sensitive data. With these tags, data governance stakeholders can easily assess compliance and create no-code access policies that improve visibility and control over data. Organizations get access to a self-service portal to quickly audit and analyze sensitive data usage, giving them the ability to reliably monitor and track data usage patterns.
“Many organizations don’t have enough technical talent to manage access policies at scale, especially with the explosion of large-language models. What they need is a modern, AI-centric governance solution,” said Nong Li, the co-founder and CEO of Okera.
Databricks says Okera’s technology is critical in addressing governance concerns such as provenance and bias that are specific to AI. The company is also testing new governance technology that supports arbitrary workloads without sacrificing performance. This intriguing technology is currently in private preview and is being tested by some customers on their AI workloads.
With this acquisition, Databricks can now offer organizations a comprehensive solution that provides secure, scalable, and simple governance for their AI and data assets. Okera’s expertise in building governance solutions for some of the world’s most forward-thinking enterprises will undoubtedly be a valuable addition to the Databricks team.
Conlcusion:
Databricks’ acquisition of Okera signals a shift towards a more modern, AI-centric governance solution that is critical for enterprises grappling with the explosive growth of data assets. With this acquisition, Databricks is well-positioned to provide organizations with a comprehensive solution that can help them better manage data privacy and governance challenges.
This move is expected to not only improve data transparency but also enhance compliance and control over data usage patterns, enabling organizations to make better data-driven decisions. Ultimately, the acquisition of Okera by Databricks is a positive development for the market, promising to make secure, scalable, and simple governance accessible to more organizations in the future.
