Macquarie Bank to build next-gen data platform

Macquarie Bank is building a next-generation data platform that will cut across its entire global operations.

The institution said the “greenfield” project will “drive how Macquarie stores and uses its data for years to come”.

A spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.

However, the bank has provided some clues on how it intends to architect the new platform as well as the types of capabilities it will introduce.

The platform itself is expected to be founded on a “microservices-based, scale out architecture” that can feed off data stored in Macquarie’s public and private cloud environments, as well as its on-premises IT systems.

Job advertisements appear to suggest that NoSQL database maker MarkLogic is being targeted as a foundation technology for the data platform.

Technical documentation also appears to confirm MarkLogic is capable of many of the published requirements for the project, such as microservices support.

Macquarie Bank pointed to the new data platform supporting three tiers of processing - “real-time, near real-time and batch data processing” - as well as handling both structured and unstructured data sets.

Not all work on the platform is occurring in Australia; early recruitment advertisements suggest that the platform design and architecture is being done in Sydney, but technical development works are occurring out of Macquarie’s Indian operations.

The project comes after Macquarie earlier this year revealed plans to hire a chief data officer to oversee the creation of group-wide data management standards.

It is unclear if the decisions to standardise data management and uplift data systems are linked; however they are common elements seen in other projects seeking to gain better value from data holdings.

Big data has been on Macquarie's radar for the past several years, however the bank has rarely provided detail on how it is looking to leverage the concept and associated technologies for its own purposes. It is known to have previously deployed Apache’s Hadoop and Hive tools.

The new data platform is the second “greenfield” IT project detailed by the bank in as many months.

Last month, Macquarie revealed plans to build and deploy an Openstack-based private cloud with the assistance of an unnamed technology vendor.