The Data Leaders Digest – Second Edition

Fivetran Fallout: What Teams Are Saying Now

In the previous edition of the newsletter we warned about Fivetran’s pricing changes and on March 1st, those changes went live introducing connection-based billing, removing the Starter plan, and tying discounts to long-term lock-ins.

As predicted the impact has been significant with many teams now facing 40–80% cost increases, even if their data usage hasn’t changed. But what’s more telling is the sentiment we’re hearing on the ground.

At recent industry meetups and events, the tone has shifted from concern to frustration. Leaders feel boxed in, trapped by pricing models that don’t scale with their needs, and pressured by renewal cycles that don’t leave time to assess alternatives.

The consensus? This isn’t just a price hike, it’s a wake-up call.

Many see the model as opaque and punitive, charging for every row regardless of its value, and penalising teams for growth. With renewals looming, teams are rethinking their setup, but they need time and a clear path to move without disruption.

That’s exactly what we’re working on at Matatika.

We’re helping teams flip the renewal model on its head, ditching lock-ins in favour of transparent, usage-based pricing and starting the process 3–6 months ahead of contract deadlines. That way, there’s time to test, validate, and switch on your terms, not the vendor’s.

For more on how the market is responding, this breakdown from DataChannel captures the sentiment and is worth a read.

LinkedIn Live Recap: The Silent Productivity Killer

On March 7, we hosted a LinkedIn Live session on a challenge that’s quietly draining data teams everywhere, the hidden productivity cost of constant migration.

Our panel, featuring experts from Matatika, The Scale Factory, and Fundamenta, dug into why teams keep migrating, often for the wrong reasons, and how to break the cycle with smarter planning and less disruption.

Key takeaways:

• Migrations should be business decisions, not just vendor reactions.
• Running migrations alongside BAU leads to burnout and broken pipelines.
• Break up big moves into smaller, testable changes—proof-of-concept beats big-bang.
• Avoid renewal traps by planning 3–6 months ahead and exploring options early.

🎥 Missed the event? Watch it here: Rewatch on LinkedIn

🔗 Prefer to read instead? Here’s the article recap

🗓️ Our next session is coming up on April 25—more on that later in this issue.

Lessons from the Frontlines of Data Leadership

📍 London Analytics Meetup @ Dawn Capital On March 13th, I joined 232 data engineers, analysts, and architects at Dawn Capital’s Soho HQ for the London Analytics Meet-up, and it was another excellent event where the room was packed for a high energy, high impactful evening of discussions.

One moment that really stuck “90% of the question is the problem.” – Sara Sheridan, VP Data & AI at Beauty Pie

Sara cut straight to the heart of the analytics challenge in 2025 -as tools get better, asking the right questions becomes the new frontier. Her team at Beauty Pie now qualifies every data request, digging for the KPIs and OKRs that actually move the business forward.

Her message? If a request doesn’t link to value, it’s okay to say no.

The takeaway across the room Data teams are stepping into a more strategic role, not just responding but refocusing. It’s not about doing more. It’s about asking better.

📍 CDO Exchange – March 19 At the CDO Exchange on March 19, the conversations were refreshingly honest. One big theme? Technical debt is piling up and it’s not just a tech problem anymore.

As data teams race to meet business demands, they’re cutting corners building fast, not building well. The result? Fragile systems, duplicated tooling, and a stack that’s harder (and more expensive) to scale.

One panel nailed it: “We don’t need more data—we need agreement on what actually matters

A few moments that stood out:

• “Why do we have three ETL tools?” the question no one wanted to answer
• GCP audits are unlocking serious savings but only for teams who go looking
• Reactive ways of working are driving inefficiencies and slowing progress
• Too many dashboards, not enough agreement on KPIs a classic sign of misalignment

The shift is clear: forward-thinking CDOs are prioritising governance, simplification, and business-first metrics. The stack doesn’t need to be flashy, it needs to be stable, scalable, and aligned to value.

🎙️Data Matas Season 2: Kicking Off with AWS’s Jon Hammant

Season 2 of Data Matas launched with a powerhouse guest, Jon Hammant, Head of AWS Specialist UK & Ireland, sharing practical strategies for scaling cloud infrastructure without spiralling costs.

In this episode, Jon and Aaron unpack why cloud spend is becoming unmanageable for many teams, how real-time data and AI are reshaping strategy, and what data leaders can do to optimise without sacrificing performance.

Key takeaways:

• Unused storage, over-provisioned compute, and 24/7 syncing are quietly eroding budgets
• Real-time data is powerful but only when paired with smart scheduling
• Usage-based pricing and vendor flexibility matter more than ever
• AI isn’t just a cost driver it can be a cost reducer when used for automation

🎧 Watch & listen to the full episode here 🔗 Explore more episodes of the Data Matas podcast here

What’s Next?

🎙️ New Data Matas Podcast Episode – March 28 In Episode 2 of Season 2, Emily Loh, Director of Data at MoonPay, shares how crypto data teams are designing flexible, future-proof systems that balance innovation, compliance, and constant change. This episode is packed with lessons any data team can apply.

🎙️ Listen now wherever you get your podcasts

▶️ YouTube: https://lnkd.in/ewu7Wf9H

🔴 LinkedIn Live – April 25 Managing Cost and Productivity? What High-Performing Data Teams Do Differently In this upcoming session, we’ll explore how data leaders are staying on track when cloud costs spike, contracts come up for renewal, or migration risk threatens delivery.

We’ll cover:

• How to reduce costs without pausing the roadmap
• Tactics to deal with sudden finance pressure
• What resilient data teams do differently

🗓️ Join live on April 25 at 1:30pm BST 📍

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