What does the medallion architecture consist of?

The medallion architecture is designed to organize and structure data in a way that facilitates effective data processing, analysis, and retrieval. It consists of three distinct layers: bronze, silver, and gold.

The bronze layer is the raw data storage area, where data is ingested in its original form, which allows for the preservation of all data, regardless of its quality. This layer serves as a foundation for any further processing and validation that may be needed.

The silver layer represents the processed data, where the data has gone through cleaning, transformation, and integration processes. It usually contains enriched datasets that are more reliable and suitable for analysis compared to the raw data in the bronze layer.

The gold layer consists of the high-quality, modeled data that can be used for reporting and analytics. This layer is specifically optimized for business intelligence, providing a well-structured view of data that is easy to aggregate, query, and visualize.

This layered approach provides clarity and organization, enabling users to easily manage data quality and access different versions of the data based on their needs and the complexities of their analyses. Each layer progressively enhances the data, making it more usable for various business intelligence tasks.