Prefect Technologies
Well-Defined Data Orchestration Streamlining Workflow Management

Akin to an air traffic control tower coordinating pilots, planes and runways to make sure that flights arrive safely and on schedule, workflow orchestrators synchronize disparate enterprise programmatic processes, usually in the form of data pipelines in Python, to achieve desired outcomes. However, as dependencies across teams and tools become more complex, workflows become convoluted and hard to maintain.

Prefect shifts this paradigm by enabling users to deploy programmatic workflows in the right place, at the right time and under the right conditions with its advanced data orchestration and observability platform.

Prefect’s hybrid model allows various business use cases and complex work environments to co-exist in harmony. On the other hand, its observability capabilities empower users to proactively identify and fix errors. This combined data orchestration and visibility provides end-to-end insight into data pipelines and enables users to seamlessly execute Python code for maximal time efficiency and cost savings.

“Our extensive workflow orchestration and observability capabilities enable users to quickly answer questions like, ‘What went wrong, why and how to fix it?’” says Bill Palombi, VP of Product at Prefect.

Recently, one of its customers, Crumbl, used Prefect to address their manual and error-prone workflow deployment processes. Automating the tasks in question, it optimized their web services, data tools and geolocation APIs with a centralized deployment framework to take code from development to production within minutes instead of days. Prefect also solved Crumbl’s data ownership problem.

Through a cloud offering comprising well-defined roles and access commands, it assisted different-level users in gaining granular control over relevant assets. For instance, engineers could modify relevant configurations, work pools, APIs and privacy settings. At the same time, other stakeholders dependent on the outputs of specific workflows gained the ability to run a workflow and identify dormant issues. Prefect supports customers with hundreds of users, enabling clients to achieve the sought-after value from the platform’s open-source and commercial tools.

Typically, customers employ scripted cron command line tools that seldom favor heterogeneous work environments comprising various languages and infrastructure.

Others rely on usage-based systems that charge $10 or more per run to look into a query (depending on the timeline), which then increases workflow orchestration and maintenance costs.

Prefect addresses the former issue by setting up users to employ reusable frameworks to manage workflows. Unlike basic scheduling models and cron string tools on Unix-based operating systems, it offers a highly intuitive and robust scheduler that supports both traditional schedules and event-driven workflows. Prefect also provides interactive workflow features that allow users to implement logic and make manual inputs to approve or deny code executions.

Our extensive data orchestration competencies enable users to quickly answer questions like, ‘What went wrong, why and how to fix it?’ while the observability we provide helps them build familiarity with their input codes and data streams

Equally critical is its event-based pipeline capability, which triggers work not just based on time but as per events as well. Depending on whether a condition is met (as indicated via an event), Prefect initiates flow runs that enhance the transition of processes and task execution. It also offers a powerful platform for real-time use cases like fraud detection to help clients promptly adapt to sporadic events in the global landscape through cutting-edge webhook integration.

The best example of how Prefect provides critical guardrails for data and platform management is through Prefect’s work pool feature. This feature combined with custom alerting allows teams to manage and observe all of their coded workflows in one place.

In the current landscape, many businesses leverage Python’s blend of simplicity and versatility to build and manage workflow orchestration solutions tailored to meet their unique needs, use cases and environments. Prefect aims to continue developing its Python platform and continue introducing more robust data orchestration and observability to boost effective workflow management for businesses planning to thrive in the modern and ever-evolving landscape.