Data Fabric vs record object

Aaryan said:

Data fabric seems to be relying on record object for what it does (from self-service analytics to AI Copilot, please add if I missed on any other offering), and hence would share the same limitations too?

Record objects focus on Appian's internal data, Data Fabric integrates and manages data from various external systems, creating a more comprehensive view.

Aaryan said:

So, what exactly does DF offers besides SSA and Co-pilot that wasn't already offered/done through Record object?

Think of record objects as a toolbox for working with data within Appian. It's great for basic tasks. Data Fabric, however, is like a giant warehouse for your entire company's data, not just Appian's. This warehouse can connect to all sorts of external systems, giving you a complete picture of your information. Plus, it has high-security features to keep everything safe. Think of it this way, Record objects help you work with what you have, Data Fabric gives you a central place to manage everything and connect to more.

Data fabric is the whole feature, and the foundation are records.

Data Fabric is a kind of design concept /data architecture concept.
Its realized via records and there relationships in the context of appian

I agree with what others said but also wanted to give some context to why we have both terms. A lot of the reason is simply that "data fabric" is a well known term in the industry, while "record type" is the term that we use to specifically refer to our design objects within Appian.

If you do research on low-code application platforms or data management tools, data fabric is common across several industries - for example, here's Gartner's definition of data fabric: https://www.gartner.com/en/information-technology/glossary/data-fabric. Since Appian's feature set provide the capabilities of a data fabric, it's a common way to talk about functionality in a way that folks not familiar with the Appian will understand.

That being said, when you're actually developing in Appian, you won't see much mention of data fabric. Instead, you'll see the term "record type", since those describe the design paradigm we use to model and relate data.

So to specifically answer this question:

Aaryan said:

So, what exactly does DF offers besides SSA and Co-pilot that wasn't already offered/done through Record object?

I wouldn't consider them different - record types are the way that Appian does data fabric, and that's how you get great new features like Self-Service Analytics and Co-pilot.