Data Mesh hexagons

Data Mesh

Data ownership that scales with your organization

Becoming truly data-driven is a priority for most organizations, but centralized data architectures often get in the way. Data Mesh changes that: domain teams take ownership of their own data, supported by a shared self-serve platform.

Data Mesh

Data ownership that scales with your organization

Becoming truly data-driven is a priority for most organizations, but centralized data architectures often get in the way. Data Mesh changes that: domain teams take ownership of their own data, supported by a shared self-serve platform.

Data Mesh

Data ownership that scales with your organization

Becoming truly data-driven is a priority for most organizations, but centralized data architectures often get in the way. Data Mesh changes that: domain teams take ownership of their own data, supported by a shared self-serve platform.

Data Mesh

Data ownership that scales with your organization

Becoming truly data-driven is a priority for most organizations, but centralized data architectures often get in the way. Data Mesh changes that: domain teams take ownership of their own data, supported by a shared self-serve platform.

Companies exploring Data Mesh with ACA

dnb logo
logo cjm
publiq
dnb logo
logo cjm
publiq

Why traditional data architecture falls short

Old data platforms were built for Business Intelligence (BI): reporting, dashboards, and slow-moving data. Today's organizations need more:

  • Machine learning-ready, real-time data flows
  • Frictionless access to high-quality data across teams
  • Faster adaptation to change and complexity

But as data needs grow, centralized teams become overwhelmed. Pipelines become fragile. Insights come too late. That’s the gap Data Mesh closes.

 

Data engineer working on the screen

What are the advantages of Data Mesh?

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More autonomy

Domain teams decide how their data is structured and shared, without waiting on a central team's backlog. Decisions move at the speed of the team that understands the data best.

data search icon blue

No more chasing your data

Data products are discoverable in a shared catalog, with clear ownership and documentation attached. No more tracking down the one person who knows where a dataset lives.

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Break free from data silos

Standard APIs and clear data contracts mean any team can access another domain's data products, without one-off integrations or manual handovers.

How it works in practice

In practice: your HR, Finance, Sales, and Marketing teams each manage their own data products and publish them in a shared data catalog. Standard APIs and clear contracts mean other teams can find and use that data fast, with fewer dependencies.

  • Break down data silos
  • Increase agility and speed
  • Improve data quality and governance
  • Align business and tech goals

Data Mesh customer success stories

DNB Bank, a financial services institution, needed a scalable and flexible data management solution but lacked a decentralized data architecture. ACA Group provided guidance on Data Mesh principles and designed a self-service data platform that decentralizes data ownership and integrates with existing systems. This data platform improves data accessibility, enhances user experience, and supports scalable, data-driven decision-making aligned with DNB’s long-term growth strategy.

hexagon background - data mesh theme
hexagon background - data mesh theme
1708505194-dnb-logo

DNB Bank, a financial services institution, needed a scalable and flexible data management solution but lacked a decentralized data architecture. ACA Group provided guidance on Data Mesh principles and designed a self-service data platform that decentralizes data ownership and integrates with existing systems. This data platform improves data accessibility, enhances user experience, and supports scalable, data-driven decision-making aligned with DNB’s long-term growth strategy.

hexagon background - data mesh theme
hexagon background - data mesh theme
1708505194-dnb-logo
A major Belgian bank needed to modernize its data management strategy to overcome limitations of centralized data architectures and enable scalable, domain-driven data usage. ACA Group guided the transition to a Data Mesh approach, combining strategic consulting, stakeholder alignment, and hands-on implementation of a self-service data platform using technologies such as Kubernetes. This resulted in a validated data product model, improved data ownership, and a scalable architecture that accelerates data-driven innovation and governance across the organization.
data mesh
data mesh
ACA Group logo
The European Demo-BLog project, focused on digital building logbooks for energy efficiency, faced challenges with fragmented building data across governments, utilities, and construction stakeholders. ACA Group developed a Data Mesh proof of concept, implementing a self-service data platform with decentralized ownership and data product principles. This approach enabled scalable data sharing and interoperability, demonstrating how a Data Mesh architecture can support data-driven services, improve access to building data, and accelerate energy-efficient decision-making across Europe.
DemoBlog 1
DemoBlog 1
logo Demo Blog

The Flemish Department of Culture, Youth and Media (CJM), a public sector organization, aims to connect cultural institutions with citizens using historical data and personal interests but faced challenges in data sharing across organizations. ACA Group is implementing a data platform based on a data mesh architecture to enable decentralized data sharing and governance. This solution supports data integration, enables data-driven services, and helps launch personalized cultural experiences for the Flemish public.

museumpas cover photo
museumpas cover photo
1695734610-dep-cjm-logo
A major Belgian bank needed to modernize its data management strategy to overcome limitations of centralized data architectures and enable scalable, domain-driven data usage. ACA Group guided the transition to a Data Mesh approach, combining strategic consulting, stakeholder alignment, and hands-on implementation of a self-service data platform using technologies such as Kubernetes. This resulted in a validated data product model, improved data ownership, and a scalable architecture that accelerates data-driven innovation and governance across the organization.
data mesh
data mesh
ACA Group logo
The European Demo-BLog project, focused on digital building logbooks for energy efficiency, faced challenges with fragmented building data across governments, utilities, and construction stakeholders. ACA Group developed a Data Mesh proof of concept, implementing a self-service data platform with decentralized ownership and data product principles. This approach enabled scalable data sharing and interoperability, demonstrating how a Data Mesh architecture can support data-driven services, improve access to building data, and accelerate energy-efficient decision-making across Europe.
DemoBlog 1
DemoBlog 1
logo Demo Blog

The Flemish Department of Culture, Youth and Media (CJM), a public sector organization, aims to connect cultural institutions with citizens using historical data and personal interests but faced challenges in data sharing across organizations. ACA Group is implementing a data platform based on a data mesh architecture to enable decentralized data sharing and governance. This solution supports data integration, enables data-driven services, and helps launch personalized cultural experiences for the Flemish public.

museumpas cover photo
museumpas cover photo
1695734610-dep-cjm-logo

Data Mesh news

Data Mesh blogs

Data lake vs. Data mesh
Data lake vs. Data mesh
Reading time 6 min
6 MAY 2025

In recent years, the exponential growth of data has led to an increasing demand for more effective ways to manage it. Building a data-driven business remains one of the top strategic goals of many business stakeholders. And while it may seem logical

Read more
data mesh
data mesh
Reading time 10 min
6 MAY 2025

Data mesh is revolutionizing the way organizations manage data. Unlike traditional centralized models, data mesh uses a decentralized, domain-oriented structure. But how does governance work in such a distributed system? At ACA Group, we believe data

Read more
  Contact us

Big idea? Project off track? Impossible deadline? We're all ears.

Drop our colleague Tom a message and let’s turn it into something brilliant together.

Tom De Wolf
Leading expert in Data Mesh, internationally recognized

Tom De Wolf portretfoto
  Contact us

Big idea? Project off track? Impossible deadline? We're all ears.

Drop our colleague Tom a message and let’s turn it into something brilliant together.

Tom De Wolf
Leading expert in Data Mesh, internationally recognized

Tom De Wolf portretfoto
  Contact us

Big idea? Project off track? Impossible deadline? We're all ears.

Drop our colleague Tom a message and let’s turn it into something brilliant together.

Tom De Wolf
Leading expert in Data Mesh, internationally recognized

Tom De Wolf portretfoto
  Contact us

Big idea? Project off track? Impossible deadline? We're all ears.

Drop our colleague Tom a message and let’s turn it into something brilliant together.

Tom De Wolf
Leading expert in Data Mesh, internationally recognized

Tom De Wolf portretfoto

FAQ - Data Mesh

How long does a Data Mesh implementation typically take?

It depends on your current data landscape and how many domains you start with. Most organizations begin with a pilot in one or two domains before scaling, which keeps the first results visible within a few months rather than waiting for a full rollout.

Do we need to replace our existing data infrastructure to adopt Data Mesh?

No. Data Mesh is an organizational and architectural approach, not a specific tool. We typically build on top of your existing platforms and integrate the self-serve layer around them, rather than ripping out what already works.

Is Data Mesh only relevant for large organizations?

It's most valuable once you have multiple teams generating and needing each other's data, which tends to happen as organizations grow, but the underlying principles, like clear data ownership, scale down to smaller setups too.

What does ACA actually help with: strategy, implementation, or both?

Both. We help define the domains, principles, and governance model that fit your organization, and then support the technical build of the self-serve platform and first data products.