Microsoft acquires data model provider ADRM


Keumars Afifi-Sabet

19 Jun, 2020

Microsoft has snapped up enterprise data modelling company ADRM Software with a view to combining the firm’s “information blueprints” with Azure storage and compute to create sophisticated data lakes.

ADRM, which providers large-scale sector-specific industrial data models to large enterprises, has built and refined its services over decades for business-critical analytics. These models allow organisations to more completely capture and define their business processes and build interoperability across IT infrastructures.

Microsoft is hoping to combine these comprehensive industrial models with the limitless storage and computing power of Azure to create intelligent data lakes where data from several lines of businesses can be combined more efficiently.

“Data and AI are the foundation of modern technological innovation, yet businesses today struggle to unlock the full value data has to offer as fragmented data estates hinder digital transformation,” said Microsoft’s CVP for Azure Global Industry Ravi Krishnaswamy said.

“Without a comprehensive and integrated view of their data, companies are at a competitive disadvantage, which hinders digital adoption and data-driven innovation.

Combining ADRM Software’s services with Azure, these capabilities can be offered to enterprises at scale, and allow customers to embark on digital projects quicker and with less risk, Microsoft explained.

Although data and AI are considered key to modern innovation, many businesses struggle to fully extract value from datasets due to fragmentation. Without a comprehensive and integrated view of their data, companies may find their digital transformation plans disrupted. This is the issue that Microsoft is hoping to resolve by feeding ADRM’s data models into its cloud computing platform.

“As we worked closely with the Azure global engineering team during the past year, we became very enthusiastic about the tremendous additional value and acceleration we believe can be unlocked for large enterprises across many industries,” said ADRM Software in an announcement.

The post added that the data lakes that can be created as a result of the acquisition aren’t “just vast reservoirs” but are also metadata-rich foundations that can supercharge data warehouses, analytics, AI and machine learning.