The Year of Data Gravity

I’ve seen firsthand how marketers are drowning in data and tools. The challenge isn’t access to technology—we have more of that than ever—it’s knowing how to use it effectively. In this article, I explore key concepts like data gravity, unified ecosystems, and the rise of composable stacks.

I’ve taken a deeper dive into the concept of decoupling databases from applications. I believe this is the next phase of SaaS innovation—helping businesses become LLM-ready by owning structured and transformed data that connects seamlessly to the apps powering their operations. This shift will redefine how we think about technology and its role in driving success. I hope you enjoy the read ...

Understanding Data Gravity

Let me introduce you to the concept of “data gravity,” a term I first encountered in an article published by the team at Snowflake (source: Snowflake's Modern Marketing Data Stack Report). It’s all about eliminating silos, unifying data, and attracting applications to work directly with that data. Instead of moving data between platforms, the focus shifts to ensuring applications access a centralized data source. This reduces reliance on middleware that merely moves data from one app to another and prevents unnecessary duplication.

While APIs and application integrations are useful now, I believe the future lies in applications designed to operate directly on centralized, secure, and headless data sources. This approach not only ensures seamless integration but also positions data as a company’s secret weapon—a core asset that powers applications without being tied to them.

Data gravity reflects the tendency to process and analyze data where it resides, reducing the need for costly and complex data movement. Tools like Zapier and Tray.io are popular for connecting applications and transferring data, but the ultimate goal is to evolve beyond these methods, creating an ecosystem where data and applications work together seamlessly at the source.

This concept isn’t entirely new, but it represents a significant shift in thinking about how we approach data. It’s not just about storing data anymore—it’s about ensuring that applications use our data source directly, rather than duplicating it across platforms. This mindset breaks down silos and encourages headless integration.

From Silos to Strategic Integration

Breaking down data silos has been one of my longstanding goals, but I’ll be honest: every new application risks creating more silos. In the past, integrating isolated datasets was a nice-to-have that improved outcomes. But today, in the age of Generative AI, unified data isn’t optional anymore. AI-driven insights require access to secure, enterprise-wide, properly governed data.

Advanced AI is going to deliver step changes in how businesses function, and LLMs will need to draw from quality data throughout the enterprise. Your corporate LLM will not run solely on marketing data. It will provide marketing insights based on secure, enterprisewide, properly governed, and access-managed data.

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Think of it as the start of your company's "Skynet"—a conscious digital brain powered by machine learning, unifying data across the organization to deliver unprecedented insights.

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The Shift to Composable, Headless Data Applications: Is This the Start of SaaS Agents?

This shift challenges SaaS companies to rethink their business models. Rather than focusing on holding data or designing proprietary architectures, they must pivot to emphasizing the real value of their applications: transforming and collecting data through workflows. This new focus on data transformation will redefine the role of SaaS, moving from control to collaboration with composable, headless data ecosystems.

Differences Between a Regular Stack and a Composable Stack

• Regular Stack:
  • Data is siloed within individual applications.
  • Middleware or integrations are required to move data between apps.
  • Applications often duplicate data, creating inefficiencies and security risks.
  • Limited flexibility and adaptability to new tools or workflows.
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• Composable Stack:
  • Applications connect directly to centralized, headless data sources.
  • Data is manipulated and transformed at its origin, reducing redundancy.
  • SaaS agents focus on transforming and collecting data rather than controlling it.
  • High flexibility and efficiency, allowing tailored tools to integrate seamlessly.
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Scott Brinker, Editor of chiefmartec.com, puts it perfectly: composability isn’t just about technical integration; it’s about designing and implementing the customer experiences you want to deliver. In a composable stack, SaaS agents—applications designed to collaborate with headless data sources—play a critical role in unlocking the potential of centralized data. This future-forward approach enables businesses to adapt rapidly and innovate more effectively.
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Data Clean Rooms: The New Data Marts for Privacy and Insights

I envision that data clean rooms are going to become a key business responsibility—a space organizations must maintain and create. These secure environments will allow SaaS agents to connect, transform, and process data directly at its source. By doing so, they can pass enriched and actionable data back to a centralized database, ensuring seamless integration and unparalleled insights. Data clean rooms are redefining how we think about data, functioning as the new data marts with an emphasis on privacy and actionable insights.

Here’s what we can gain with data clean rooms:

• Enhanced Audience Insights: By connecting first-party data with external datasets in a privacy-safe manner, we can achieve a comprehensive view of our audiences.
• Collaborative Media Partnerships: Clean rooms can foster better partnerships between advertisers and media publishers, enabling improved targeting and personalization.
• Secure Effectiveness Measurement: They allow us to measure campaign reach, frequency, and effectiveness while maintaining consumer trust.

Data clean rooms have the potential to transform how we collaborate and measure success, ensuring privacy compliance while unlocking valuable insights.

Embracing Data Gravity: The Key to Unlocking Transformation

Thinking with the data gravity mindset, I belive will help future proof your work as a marketing ops profesional. The shift toward unified, secure, and privacy-conscious data ecosystems has become a business imperative. I belive Martech tools must evolve to meet this demand, integrating directly with comprehensive data environments to deliver maximum impact.

At the heart of this transformation is a strategic mindset. By adopting native, connected applications and embracing data clean rooms, you will unloack the true potential of your data, creating meaningful and measurable results.

The journey from data chaos to clarity is well underway. 2025 is poised to be the year marketers, myself included, embrace data gravity, empowering us to lead with insight, precision, and responsibility.

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