New Learning Pathway for Data Architects: Upskill on Data Platforms, AI and Governance

Today, we are announcing the Data Architect learning pathway, a dedicated learning track that equips data architects with the required resources and skills for success. Upskilling is never optional for data architects—it’s a necessity driven by evolving technologies and regulatory demands. At Databricks, we recognize that tackling these challenges involves having a fundamental understanding of modern data platforms, AI tools, and governance frameworks. 

This training involves three components, helping data architects on their journey to enable their organizations to extract the maximum value from their data.

The need to upskill for data architects

Data architects play an instrumental role in defining an organization’s data strategy, serving as the bridge between business and technology. While organizations are investing heavily in AI and generative AI systems, these advancements come with hurdles such as managing multicloud environments, ensuring data quality, and meeting stricter governance regulations. For example, 54% of CIOs cite data quality and availability as a top obstacle to enabling data-driven decisions, underscoring the importance of improving data trust and governance. Addressing these challenges requires mastering data lakehouses, AI integration, and cloud-native design. These skills are the foundation for building future-ready architectures that fuel innovation while safeguarding trust and compliance.

“Databricks enables us to outperform and deliver best-in-class customer experiences in every market. With its lakehouse architecture, our stakeholders and developers can work more collaboratively and unlock critical trends and insights needed to serve our 180 million customers.”

— Sergiy Tkachuk, Head of Data Science at Reckitt

“We want to extract maximum value from data by equipping the right people with the right skills. Databricks enables our teams to problem-solve effectively and deliver substantial value to our business.”

— Kristopher Curtis, Global BI Technology Director, JLL Technologies

Deep dive into the new training courses

The Databricks Data Intelligence Platform is used by several thousand organizations every day, and we understand the need to equip data architects with the skills to manage complex data estates to serve multiple needs. The “Get Started with Lakehouse Architecture” covers the scope, vision, and capabilities of a platform founded in lakehouse architecture, with a focus on how Databricks integrates with a cloud platform’s architecture.

This introductory course will help you:

• Master a core set of concepts to describe the fundamentals of the lakehouse architecture
• Learn how to use Databricks’ various tools and capabilities for data and AI initiatives
• Apply Databricks' well-architected lakehouse framework principles and best practices, for optimal implementation and operation
• Identify cloud-specific lakehouse components and integrate Databricks with various cloud providers

Upon completion, data architects will be better positioned to understand and implement a data lakehouse on Databricks and how to apply data architecture strategies to accelerate data and AI initiatives. They also earn a completion certificate that can be shared on LinkedIn or their résumé. 

Additional courses to enable data architects to upskill on using Databricks include: 

• Data Modeling Strategies: This course offers a deep dive into designing data models within the Databricks Lakehouse environment and understanding the data product's lifecycle. Participants will learn to align business requirements with data organization and model design, leveraging Delta Lake and Unity Catalog to define data architectures and techniques for data integration and sharing. 
• Data Management and Governance with Unity Catalog: This course provides an introduction to Unity Catalog, discusses fundamental data governance concepts, and then dives into a variety of topics including using Unity Catalog for data access control, managing external storage and tables, data segregation, and more.

These courses will also be available on Databricks Academy as self-paced or instructor-led, so users can choose the format that suits their needs.

Ready to start your journey? Enroll today and transform your data skills with Databricks.