Berlin has established itself as one of Europe's leading centers for data management research and engineering. BIFOLD and its partners at TU Berlin, HU Berlin, and HPI Potsdam bring together research expertise of the highest caliber - spanning data stream processing, distributed systems, data science, ML systems, data integration, and responsible AI.

At the same time, Berlin has become home to a vibrant industrial ecosystem. Leading companies in data engineering and analytics have established significant engineering presence in the city, many of them founded or led by alumni of Berlin's research groups.

The rapid rise of AI is creating a new generation of data management challenges: LLM-integrated data pipelines, agent-driven data processing, and real-time inference at scale. Meeting these challenges requires close collaboration between those who research the foundations and those who build and operate production systems.

Volker Markl, BIFOLD Director:

BEADS fosters collaboration — regularly, accessibly, and sustainably!

The Berlin Ecosystem for Analytics and Data Systems (BEADS) connects researchers and practitioners in data management across the Berlin metropolitan area. Its goals are to generate new research ideas, accelerate technology transfer, and further strengthen Berlin's position as a leading European hub for data systems.

The community is anchored at BIFOLD and open to everyone active in data management in the Berlin area - from academia, industry, and start-ups.

Membership is free.