Denodo Platform 9.1 launch boosts AI & data features

Denodo has launched Denodo Platform 9.1, marking the addition of advanced AI capabilities and enhanced performance for data lakehouses.

Denodo Platform 9.1 continues to expand on the intelligent data delivery features introduced with Denodo Platform 9, which was launched in June. It enhances data management capabilities with AI-powered support, including natural-language queries and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), allowing organisations to obtain reliable insights from their generative AI applications.

This latest release introduces the AI-powered Denodo Assistant, which uses the platform's semantic layer to automate tasks and offer context-aware insights and recommendations to data analysts and other business users.

The new features of Denodo Assistant include Query Wizard Recommendations, which guides users in creating queries; Intelligent Query Autocompletion, providing context-aware query suggestions; and a Data Preparation Wizard, which allows customisation of data products with minimal involvement from data teams.

Lukas Reinauer, Data Engineer for Big Data & AI at Festo, commented on the impact of Denodo Platform 9.1: "Denodo Platform 9.1 has been a game changer for Festo, particularly in our journey to harness the potential of Generative AI within our data landscape. With Denodo's flexible and advanced data integration capabilities, we've been able to seamlessly integrate structured and unstructured data, accelerating key GenAI initiatives such as FestoGPT and Skillground. This platform's powerful metadata-driven approach has allowed us to overcome complex data challenges, enabling our employees to access and analyse data more intuitively and efficiently. The launch of Platform 9.1 marks an exciting milestone in our continued collaboration with Denodo, driving innovation and enhancing our ability to deliver meaningful insights across the organisation."

In addition to Denodo Assistant, the company has unveiled the Denodo AI SDK, a new open-source toolkit designed to accelerate the development of AI-powered applications and agents, notably those implementing RAG. This SDK facilitates the integration of structured and unstructured data into GenAI models, aiming to improve accuracy and performance.

Alberto Pan, Chief Technology Officer at Denodo, highlighted the challenges organisations face in deriving expected business value from AI and how Denodo aims to address them: "Organisations are finding it challenging to gain their expected business value from AI, but Denodo is working to change that, first with our support of RAG, and now with our AI SDK. The AI SDK, which accelerates AI application development, is open-source by design. This is our way of levelling the field so more developers can compete in the race to build the promised AI applications of the future."

Beyond its AI enhancements, Denodo Platform 9.1 strengthens data lakehouses' capabilities, improving support for Iceberg and Delta table formats and enhancing integration with cloud environments, including Microsoft Fabric and OneLake.

Additional features include Advanced Iceberg Support with improved introspection and time-travel capabilities, Improved Microsoft Fabric and OneLake Support for streamlined data integration, and support for Arrow Flight SQL, designed for high-performance data transfer in cloud data ecosystems.

Mark Thorogood, Director of Data Operations and Software Engineering at Perkins Coie, expressed his enthusiasm for Denodo's capabilities: "Denodo's Gen AI capability is a transformative innovation that allows anyone to access and interact with data using natural language. It removes the need for knowing technical details, such as database names or the particulars of a query language. By removing friction and barriers, Denodo's Gen AI capability can simplify data access, maximise value, and drive data democratisation."