Apache Calcite vs Virtual Data Platform

Apache Calcite is a free, open-source data management framework for applications that need database-management components without built-in storage. It provides an industry-standard SQL parser, validator, and JDBC driver. Queries are represented as relational algebra, then transformed with planning rules and a cost model for optimization. Calcite can mediate between applications and several storage locations or processing engines, and can push computation to a source database. Listed adapters include Arrow, Cassandra, CSV, Druid, Elasticsearch, JDBC, MongoDB, Redis, Spark, and Splunk. Its JDBC driver supports local connections and remote connections using JSON over HTTP or Protobuf over HTTP. Calcite is available as source and through Maven, for API or self-hosted use. Build prerequisites include Git and Java JDK 8u220 or later, with Java 11 preferred. It does not store data; each source must be registered through a schema or adapter.

Virtual Data Platform (VDP) provides live access to enterprise data across systems, networks, and organizations without copying it into a warehouse or lake. Queries run against source systems, and results are combined in an in-memory sandbox for each user. Its low-code Modeler creates reusable Virtual Datasets from Functions, Code Files, Models, and Value Lists. Users can work with the data through Excel, Power BI, Python, R, and MCP-capable AI assistants. Listed integrations include SAP, Snowflake, Salesforce, Workday, SQL Server, SharePoint, ODBC, OData, Oracle, PostgreSQL, BigQuery, and Dynamics 365. Users sign in with Microsoft Entra ID, and queries apply source-system permissions under the requesting user’s identity. The maker describes outbound-only gateway connections, TLS on every connection, encrypted payloads, and results held in memory rather than saved to disk. It describes the service as GDPR-aligned and hosted in the EU on Microsoft Azure, while making no certification claims today. A Dedicated tier offers a dedicated backend cluster and Azure Private Endpoints.