Presto vs Virtual Data Platform

Presto is an open-source distributed SQL query engine for working with large datasets across different data sources. Its ANSI SQL interface can query information where it is stored and combine data from multiple sources in one query, for both interactive and batch workloads. The project lists ad hoc queries, reporting and dashboards, and open lakehouse workloads among its uses. Documented connectors include BigQuery, Cassandra, Delta Lake, Elasticsearch, Hive, Iceberg, Kafka, MongoDB, MySQL, PostgreSQL, and Redis. Presto can be installed from a server tarball or deployed with Homebrew, Docker, or Helm. Security options include Kerberos, LDAP, password-file authentication, access controls, secure internal communication, and OAuth 2.0. Users can work through its CLI or Console, connect with DBeaver or Tableau, use Java, Python, Go, or JavaScript clients, or access the REST API. The project is free and open source, overseen by the Presto Foundation, which describes it as independent of any single company. The documentation identifies release 0.299, while the getting-started page still refers to version 0 from June 2022.

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.