Ep 19 - How CARIAD Powers Software-Defined Vehicles with Real-Time Data Streaming

45 million vehicles, 90 markets, 12+ iconic brands, each with its own data silos, standards, and infrastructures. 

In this episode, Chetan Alatagi, Solution Architect reveals how they transitioned from fragmented legacy ETL silos to a Unified Data Ecosystem—a global data streaming highway that turns vehicle telemetry into real-time value.

Chetan joins Joseph to go under the hood of a multi-region, multi-cloud architecture powered by Apache Kafka® and Confluent Cloud that ingests petabytes of vehicle telemetry, enforces data governance from edge to cloud, and powers mission-critical use cases like real-time emergency services, friction data alerts, and automated compliance across the entire Volkswagen Group.

You'll Learn:

• How CARIAD ingests, governs, and distributes vehicle data at petabyte scale across a multi-cloud, multi-region architecture
• Why Apache Flink® was the best option for stateful processing and how CARIAD balances Confluent Cloud for Apache Flink with self-managed clusters to achieve global flexibility and meet regional regulatory requirements
• How CARIAD migrated multiple brands onto a unified event highway with near-zero data loss through Schema Registry and backward compatibility

Whether you’re battling Apache Kafka operational overhead or building a global data mesh, this episode is a blueprint for large-scale platform modernization and real-time fleet analytics.

About the Guest: 
Chetan Alatagi is a Solution Architect in Solution Management at CARIAD, the automotive software company of the Volkswagen Group. He works within CARIAD's Connecting Cloud division on the Data and AI Platform, where his team is focused on unleashing vehicle data through a Unified Data Ecosystem that powers connected, intelligent experiences for brands across the VW Group portfolio. He is a certified SAFe 5 Architect.

Guest Highlight:
"We chose a neutral event highway and migrated brand by brand, easing integration with simple configuration and easy onboarding. We upheld security standards, delivered on time, and enabled a switch with almost no data loss." – Chetan Alatagi

Episode Timestamps: 
[00:47] Guest Introduction + CARIAD Overview 
[06:10] Segment 1: Data Streaming Goodness
[19:52] Segment 2: Beyond the Stream 
[43:36] Segment 3: Quick Bytes
[51:00] Segment 4: Joseph’s Top Takeaways

Dive Deeper into Data Streaming:

• EP1—Stream On: Unleashing Innovation With Data Streaming | Life Is But A Stream
• EP2—Processing Without Pause: Continuous Stream Processing and Apache Flink® | Life Is But A Stream
• EP3—The Connective Tissue: Shift Left to Turn Data Chaos to Clarity | Life Is But A Stream

Links & Resources:

• Connect with Joseph: @thedatagiant
• Joseph’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thedatagiant
• Chetan’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/chetan-alatagi-14646316/
• The Ultimate Data Streaming Guide - Second Edition: https://www.confluent.io/resources/ebook/streaming-use-case-guide/?utm_campaign=tm.fm-ww_cd.2026-usecase-book-podcast-nbas&utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=podcast  
• Try Confluent Cloud: 
  • https://www.confluent.io/confluent-cloud/tryfree/?utm_source=simplecast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_id=tm.content_life-is-but-a-stream-cariad
• Learn more at Confluent.io
  • https://www.confluent.io/life-is-but-a-stream-show/?utm_source=simplecast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_id=tm.content_life-is-but-a-stream-cariad

Our Sponsor:  
Your data shouldn’t be a problem to manage. It should be your superpower. The Confluent data streaming platform transforms organizations with trustworthy, real-time data that seamlessly spans your entire environment and powers innovation across every use case. Create smarter, deploy faster, and maximize efficiency with a true data streaming platform from the pioneers in data streaming. Learn more at confluent.io.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.