Alex Merced • 5/28/2026

Decoupling Storage and Compute in Apache Iceberg: A Deep Dive into Cost Optimization

This article provides a deep dive into Apache Iceberg's storage-compute decoupling mechanism, explaining how it enables cost optimization by separating data storage in open formats like Parquet from compute engines. It covers the metadata layer's role in file pruning, multi-engine routing for different workloads (e.g., Spark for batch, Dremio for interactive queries), hidden costs, and a TCO framework. The article also discusses when decoupling may not be beneficial and governance across engines, making it a technical guide for data lakehouse cost efficiency.

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#cost optimization #Apache Iceberg #Data Lakehouse