Authored by CJ Knapp, 3Cloud Senior Director, HLS Enterprise Solutions

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How Databricks Is Evolving from Rock-Solid Core to Strategic Platform

The 2025 Databricks Data & AI Summit in San Francisco. signified a seismic shift in how the platform positions itself to customers. Databricks is no longer just the engine behind your data pipelines, it’s becoming the control tower for your enterprise AI strategy.

For years, Databricks has been the go-to platform for organizations looking to unify their data and AI workloads. Its foundation –  built on Spark, Delta Lake and Lakehouse architecture – has delivered unmatched scalability, performance and governance. But at this year’s Databricks Data & AI Summit, one thing became clear: the company is no longer just refining its core. It’s expanding its frontier.

 

Why This Matters, Especially in Healthcare

In my role, I work with many Healthcare organizations to enhance patient outcomes, streamline revenue cycle or even enhance research capabilities. Throughout my time in this role, I’ve seen firsthand how Databricks has matured into a mission-critical platform. Healthcare organizations are dramatically understaffed and under pressure to modernize legacy systems, ensure compliance and unlock insights from vast, siloed datasets.

This is why Healthcare is increasingly turning to Databricks; not just for its technical horsepower, but for its ability to support secure, governed and scalable analytics environments. From clinical data pipelines to population health dashboards, Databricks is becoming a strategic pillar in the healthcare data stack.
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A Rock-Solid Core, Now Fully Realized

Databricks has spent the last several years hardening its core capabilities:

These aren’t just features, they’re the foundation of a modern data estate. They’ve enabled organizations to consolidate fragmented architectures into a single, governed platform that supports both operational and analytical workloads.

 

Strategic Shift From Platform to Ecosystem

What stood out at the Summit was how Databricks is now building on top of that foundation to create a more complete, accessible and intelligent platform. Here are a few highlights that signal this shift:

Lakebase: A managed Postgres database with decoupled compute and storage, embedded directly in Databricks. It’s enhanced with CI/CD features that simplify the historically difficult task of data CI/CD – especially valuable in regulated industries like healthcare.

Databricks Apps: A low-code framework for building secure, internal apps on top of your data – without leaving the platform.

Power Platform Connector: Announced alongside Databricks Apps, this emphasizes the importance of connecting apps to your data, even if it’s not through Databricks directly.

Databricks One: A unified AI entry point for non-engineers, making it easier for business users to interact with data and models.

Lakeflow Designer: A visual, low/no-code ETL tool that now includes Delta Live Tables (DLT), making pipeline development more intuitive.

Agent Bricks: Pre-optimized, task-ready AI agents that can be deployed quickly to automate data-driven workflows.
These aren’t incremental updates – they’re strategic moves that position Databricks as a full-spectrum data intelligence platform.

 

Deep Azure Integration for Enterprise-Scale Impact

For organizations building on Azure, this evolution is especially significant. Databricks integrates deeply with Microsoft Fabric, Power BI and Azure-native services like Entra ID, Key Vault and Defender for Cloud

This makes it easier to embed Databricks into enterprise-scale architectures while maintaining compliance, security and operational efficiency.

As highlighted in Databricks Engineering – Master, the platform now supports:

  • Live semantic models in Power BI via Unity Catalog
  • Natural language insights through Databricks AI/BI Genie
  • Secure data sharing with Delta Sharing
  • CI/CD pipelines via Azure DevOps and GitHub

This level of integration means Databricks isn’t just a data platform, it’s a strategic enabler for enterprise transformation.

 

Final Thoughts

Databricks has always been a powerful engine for data and AI. But now, it’s becoming the dashboard, the steering wheel and the GPS, too. This shifts the conversation to the possibilities for delivering value – not just through infrastructure, but through enablement.

If you’re leading a data strategy in 2025, especially in a complex, regulated industry like healthcare, it’s time to think of Databricks not just as a tool, but as a platform that can empower your entire organization.

 

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

 
CJ Knapp, Senior Director – HLS Enterprise Solutions

CJ KNAPP
3Cloud Sr Director, HLS Enterprise Solutions

 With over two decades of experience in cloud architecture, data strategy and enterprise transformation, CJ leads initiatives that help healthcare organizations modernize their platforms, unlock insights and improve outcomes across the care continuum. Known for bridging technical depth with business impact, CJ partners with clients to design scalable, secure and compliant solutions tailored to the unique challenges of the healthcare industry.

Outside of work, CJ is an avid cyclist, a curious technologist and a firm believer in the power of data to drive better decisions – whether in the clinic or the cloud.

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