At the end of 2025, everything came together. Digital sovereignty was becoming increasingly important, but in practice many organisations remained dependent on big tech companies like Microsoft. After building a data warehouse with Microsoft Fabric for a client, I experienced the limitations myself: opaque costs, complex configurations, and a lack of simple features such as incremental loading. It felt like you needed a certified Microsoft specialist to make the system work properly. I also saw how organisations spent months, sometimes years, switching between tools – time and capacity that was lost. It was clear: there had to be a better, more accessible solution.
I already had experience with open-source tools such as Superset, DBT and Airflow, which were even used by large companies like Microsoft themselves. Why couldn't we build a platform that combines the power of these tools, but without the complex dependencies and high costs? A platform that is not only technically strong, but also makes best practices the default – so organisations don't get stuck in creative but unmaintainable solutions. I wanted to create something for the many mid-sized organisations that have to make do with small, flexible teams. For them, every day a team member spends maintaining the environment is a day not spent on valuable insights.
DataOwn was born out of frustration that organisations often choose 'safe' solutions that in practice turn out to be limiting and expensive. It's time for an alternative: a platform that is not only technically strong, but also truly fits the needs of organisations – without vendor lock-in, without unnecessary complexity, and with the freedom to choose where your data resides. This way organisations can focus on what really matters: extracting value from their data.