Prasanna Kumar

Modern data stacks often promise a simple idea: a single query layer that can unify access across databases, data lakes, and SaaS sources. Engines like Trino make this vision technically feasible—allowing teams to query MySQL, MongoDB, S3-based lakehouses, and even spreadsheets through one interface. This talk shares a practitioner’s perspective on what it actually takes to make that promise work inside a regulated fintech environment, where data residency, auditability, and access control are not optional. Drawing from real-world experience building a federated query layer over heterogeneous systems, it explores the gap between architectural elegance and operational reality. The session will highlight challenges that emerge at scale: inconsistent semantics across sources, unpredictable query performance, governance complexities with role-based access, and the risk of turning federation into “distributed chaos.” It will also cover the practical guardrails required to make such a system usable—data contracts, curated layers, controlled abstractions, and user-focused enhancements like custom functions. Rather than presenting federation as a silver bullet, this talk reframes it as a powerful but disciplined capability. Attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of when a unified query layer accelerates data access—and when it quietly amplifies complexity.