Why Add a Platinum Layer to Databricks Medallion Architecture?
In the age of AI-powered insights and hyper-personalisation, the traditional Medallion Architecture, Bronze, Silver, and Gold, may no longer be enough. It often falls short in scenarios that require extreme precision, sub-second streaming, and AI-readiness.
This is where the Platinum layer steps in.
Positioned above the Gold layer, the Platinum layer is designed for organisations that want more than standard business intelligence. It supports enhanced data quality, advanced enrichment, and immediate accessibility for machine learning and AI-driven systems through Databricks-native features like Delta Lake, Unity Catalog, and Genie LLM.
For enterprises looking to lead—not just compete—in data-driven innovation, the Platinum layer within Databricks Lakehouse isn’t a luxury; it’s a strategic move.
Author
Raj
Manoharan
Cloudaeon's Chief Architect, Raj is an alumni of NTT Data and has 20+ years experience in delivering enterprise transformation projects in Cloud, Data & AI.
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Raj
Manoharan
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What is Lorem Ipsum?
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged.
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged.
Medallion Architecture
The medallion architecture is a data design pattern used to structure data within a Databricks lakehouse environment logically. It organises data into layered stages, Bronze, Silver, and Gold, with each stage aimed at progressively refining the data's quality and structure.
This approach, also known as a "multi-hop" architecture, enables incremental enhancement as data flows through each layer.
Core Principles of Medallion
Layers in Medallion Architecture
Bronze
The Bronze layer acts as the initial staging area for data ingested from external source systems. It retains the raw structure of source tables while appending additional metadata such as load timestamps and process identifiers. This layer primarily supports Change Data Capture, enabling historical archiving, preserving data lineage, supporting auditability, and allowing for reprocessing without needing to re-query the original sources.
Silver
The Silver layer follows Bronze in the Databricks data lakehouse architecture, where data undergoes essential transformations to reach a “just-enough” state. This layer provides a consolidated enterprise view, organising key business entities, concepts, and transactions for broader analytical use.
Gold
The Gold layer represents the final stage of the Databricks data lakehouse architecture. Here, data is organised into subject-specific databases optimised for consumption, particularly in reporting and analytics. This layer features denormalised, read-optimised models with minimal joins, ensuring high performance. It’s also where final data transformations and quality checks are applied.
Does it stop there?
No, in addition to the Bronze, Silver and Gold layers, there is a Platinum layer used to enhance the data quality.
Not all enterprises use the Platinum layer as it is an optional layer in the Medallion Architecture.
Imagine your data architecture like preparing a gourmet meal. The Bronze layer is the raw ingredient prep – washing, peeling, chopping – essential but not glamorous. The Silver layer is the actual cooking – transforming those ingredients into something tasty and structured. The Gold layer is plating – the finishing touches that make it presentable, appetising, and ready to serve. Now, some chefs talk about a 'Platinum' layer – like sprinkling edible gold leaf on top.
When to add a Platinum Layer?
When considering the addition of a Platinum layer, it's crucial to assess the nature of the project to determine its necessity and value.
Adding a Platinum layer to your Medallion Architecture should rely on the following project factors:
Advanced data enrichment
Extreme-low latency required
High accuracy data
Highly personalised customer offerings like tailored deals, etc.
Ultra refined data quality with advanced analytics
Platinum Layer: When to Use vs. When to Avoid
Use the Platinum Layer When... | Avoid the Platinum Layer When... |
You need ultra-refined, AI/ML-ready datasets | Your current Gold layer already meets business needs |
Real-time decision making and sub-second latency are critical | Minimal latency is not required and pipeline simplicity is preferred |
Complex business logic and hyper personalisation are required | You're dealing with straightforward reporting and dashboards |
You're integrating with advanced tools like Agentic AI chatbots | There's no immediate need for AI-driven features or intelligent agents |
Data governance and lineage are a high priority (e.g., Unity Catalog) | You're early in your data maturity journey or focusing on cost savings |
You want to enhance decision-making with predictive analytics | You're early in your data maturity journey or focusing on cost savings |
AI and ML models with Platinum Layer
The Gold layer does support a broad spectrum of reporting needs, so it’s natural to ask why a Platinum layer is necessary for enhanced data enrichment.
The answer lies in the advanced capabilities the Platinum layer enables, particularly around AI and ML driven decision making. This layer is purpose built to support:
Predictive analytics and forecasting
Self-monitoring and adaptive systems
In-depth profit and loss analysis
Early warning and anomaly detection
By incorporating ultra refined data, the Platinum layer empowers enterprises to move beyond descriptive reporting into intelligent, forward-looking insights.
Enhance Governance with Databricks Unity Catalog and DLT
By integrating Unity Catalog with Delta Live Tables, enterprises can enhance the Platinum layer of the Medallion Architecture by ensuring governed, high-quality, and real-time data delivery. DLT automates ETL pipelines with built-in quality checks and CDC, while Unity Catalog enforces centralised access control and lineage tracking. Together, they enable trusted, curated datasets for business intelligence and advanced analytics at the Platinum layer.
You may like: Simplify Streaming ETL with Databricks Delta Live Tables
Leverage Agentic AI Chatbot on Platinum Layer
According to Gartner, by 2028, autonomous AI agents will be responsible for 15% of all enterprise work decisions, marking a major shift in how technology integrates with business workflows. Agentic AI chatbots are transforming the role of data scientists by automating complex decision-making processes. Tasks such as data preparation, model optimisation, exploratory data analysis, and strategic recommendations have become more accessible than ever.
Leading companies like Netflix and Google already rely on Agentic AI-powered ETL pipelines to efficiently process vast amounts of data. For instance, Netflix uses intelligent agents to analyse user behaviour and deliver personalised content recommendations.
Moreover, Agentic AI isn't limited to technical users. Even non-technical stakeholders can interact with these chatbots using simple prompts to generate insights, eliminating the need for constant support from technical teams. These systems not only provide structured data outputs but also deliver intuitive visualisations, making it easier to understand complex information and draw meaningful conclusions.
Live Use Case
M&S, one of the top retailers and one of our most valued clients, required highly enriched data for their Baby Club, offering a program where every member receives personalised offers, vouchers, and messaging on a regular basis.
Cloudaeon developed a mesh with medallion architecture for data transitioning. M&S baby club offering required refined data from multiple domains, customer, transactions, vendor, etc. For the cross-domain data access, mesh with medallion architecture played a vital role.
To meet the demand of personalised offers, our Databricks-certified data engineers at Cloudaeon implemented a Platinum layer on top of the Medallion Architecture. This particular use case required highly personalised messaging, membership tracking, and dynamic offers based on the baby's birth date, gender, and age needs that went beyond the capabilities of the traditional Gold layer . The implementation of the Platinum layer enabled faster insights across vast datasets, allowing M&S to deliver timely, relevant communications to their Baby Club members. Adding a platinum layer helped access to data from multiple domains easy without hampering each domain access rule or data security.
Beyond customer engagement, M&S also leveraged the Platinum layer to optimise its supply chain operations. Precision in predictions and forecasts is crucial in supply chain management, and the Platinum layer was instrumental in enabling M&S to accurately forecast seasonal sales, predict product demand, and plan product launches accordingly.
Even a slight delay in retrieving accurate data from supply chain hubs can lead to significant losses. With the Platinum layer, M&S was able to identify the fastest routes to nearby hubs, ensuring efficient product availability and minimising operational risks.
Conclusion
The future of data architecture isn’t just about storing and structuring information, it’s about empowering intelligence at scale. The Platinum layer takes your data strategy from functional to transformational, enabling real-time insights, AI-driven decisions, and precision operations. As demonstrated by forward-thinking enterprises like M&S, investing in this layer isn't just an upgrade, it's a competitive advantage. If your business demands more than standard reporting, if you want predictive, personalised, and proactive capabilities, it’s time to go Platinum.
Interested in exploring more about the Platinum layer? Book a 30-minute discovery session with our Databricks Lakehouse architects.
Want to streamline your ETL pipelines and leverage AI-powered ETL tools? Start now.
