The Data Stack Show

253: Why Traditional Data Pipelines Are Broken (And How to Fix Them) with Ruben Burdin of Stacksync

Jul 16, 2025
Ruben Burdin, Founder and CEO of Stacksync, delves into the complexities of data integration, especially the challenges of two-way syncing for platforms like Salesforce and HubSpot. He questions the practicality of traditional methods like zero-copy ETL and highlights how these can create more issues than they solve. The conversation introduces Stacksync's innovative real-time SQL-based synchronization as a solution to streamline data management, reduce overhead, and enhance operational workflows across varied enterprise systems.
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ANECDOTE

Manual Two-Way Sync Nightmare

  • Ruben Burdin describes the extreme complexity of building two-way sync workflows manually.
  • Even a single contact sync pipeline consumed his full-time effort for weeks due to updates, deletes, and backfills.
INSIGHT

Complexity of Cross-System Data Models

  • Different systems have different data models and definitions, making two-way sync exceptionally complex.
  • Filters and associations like contacts belonging to companies differ widely, complicating synchronization.
ANECDOTE

CSV: The Original Sync Tool

  • The original two-way sync is effectively just CSV files with manual VLOOKUPs.
  • Often only one person knows how these CSV-based integrations truly work, creating a high risk.
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