Microsoft and Google Back Open Specification to Boost Data Interoperability

Microsoft and Google have joined forces to support Apache Ossie, an open specification for exchanging semantic models across data, analytics, and AI platforms. The project aims to make enterprise data and AI platforms more interoperable, allowing enterprises to move semantic models between compatible platforms without requiring a separate point-to-point converter for every pair of vendors.

The use of JSON and YAML to represent semantic models enables them to be represented in a common format, making them easily transferable across platforms. Microsoft is supporting Ossie by developing a two-way converter between Power BI semantic models and Ossie, allowing enterprises to carry the calculation logic that gives their semantic models business meaning alongside the underlying model when moving between platforms.

Google's support for Ossie includes recognizing BigQuery/GoogleSQL as a supported dialect. The project has already gained the backing of over 60 companies, including Databricks, Informatica, and Nvidia.

Analysts suggest that the support from Microsoft and Google could reduce the burden of repeated semantic engineering for enterprise teams moving analytics workloads between platforms, and improve productivity by reducing time spent translating and validating semantic definitions for each platform.