Fivetran + dbt Labs: Building Open Data Infrastructure to Challenge the Integrated Giants

On October 14, 2025, Fivetran and dbt Labs announced their merger. A move that disrupts the balance of the Modern Data Stack and marks a strategic turning point for open data architectures. SBI breaks it down.

A merger that makes sense… But execution will be the real challenge

$600M in annual recurring revenue. Over 10,000 customers. With this merger, Fivetran (a leader in automated data ingestion) and dbt Labs (the reference in SQL-first analytical transformation) are joining forces to create what Tristan Handy (dbt CEO) calls an “Open Data Infrastructure.”

The goal: to offer a credible alternative to the vertical integration pushed by platforms like Snowflake, Databricks, or Microsoft Fabric, all aiming to internalize the entire data processing chain, from ingestion to dashboards, putting pressure on the specialized solutions ecosystem.

The “Best-of-Breed” vs. “All-in-One” battle enters a new phase

“This is a defensive merger, not an offensive one. The real challenge will be their ability to innovate faster than the platforms — with fewer resources.”

Proprietary platforms promise simplicity, lower costs, and seamless native integration. To stand their ground, Fivetran + dbt will need to:

• Deliver a smooth and unified product experience: integrated orchestration, shared metadata, native end-to-end lineage.

• Reduce Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) through attractive bundled pricing.

• Develop unique cross-product features that no single platform could deliver on its own.

The risk of a “duct-taped” stack

Fivetran and dbt were designed to work together but they’re still two separate products. To win over the market, the newly merged company must avoid the pitfall of loosely coupled tools and deliver a truly unified user experience.

At SBI, we’ve seen many clients struggle with data projects where the stack was too fragmented. Conversely, successful transformations, like those at Air Transat or dnata, were built on cohesive, integrated architectures, even in multi-cloud environments.

Open-source: the best defense against vendor lock-in

In a landscape where platforms aim to own the entire data value chain, dbt Labs’ commitment to open-source is a strategic stance.

dbt Core will remain open-source, as will the Fusion project. Fivetran — historically focused on proprietary software — now pledges to open up its ecosystem, potentially releasing some of its connectors under open licenses.

At SBI, we strongly advise against building a data platform around a single vendor. That’s one of the key reasons we continue to actively support dbt Core in our client architectures — including hybrid environments like those at Air Canada.

What does this mean for you — concretely?

SBI’s position is clear

The Fivetran + dbt merger is great news for the open data ecosystem. But its success will hinge on the new company’s ability to deliver real integrated value while staying true to the principles of openness, simplicity, and interoperability — the foundation of the Modern Data Stack.

At SBI, we continue to guide our clients toward cloud-native, scalable, and vendor-agnostic data platforms, just as we’ve done for:

• Air Canada: Full BI platform modernization with Azure, Snowflake, and Power BI → -50% processing costs, +75% adoption

• Air Transat: Scalable cloud-native data warehouse with Snowflake, Azure, and dbt → total autonomy for internal teams

• dnata (Emirates Group): Automated HR reporting via Strategy™ → +350 KPIs, +100 active business users

Ultimately, the choice is strategic: technological freedom or easy integration?

Contact us!