What is data latency and how to measure it

Data latency, a crucial metric for data teams, measures the time it takes for data to become accessible in a database after an event occurs, and is vital for executing real-time or near real-time data use cases such as fraud detection or recommendation engines. While some applications, like quarterly sales reports, can tolerate higher latency, others benefit significantly from rapid data availability, enhancing commercial value by enabling faster actions on data. Despite its importance, obtaining latency metrics is challenging as most data platforms don't provide easy access to this information. Snowplow addresses these challenges by updating its microservices to allow customers to measure data latency accurately and consistently, enabling them to track the performance of data pipelines and understand the speed at which data is loaded into storage. By providing detailed latency metrics, Snowplow enhances transparency and confidence in data products, publishing the data to platforms like Google Cloud's Operations and Cloudwatch, which aids in monitoring and improving the health of data pipelines.