7 New Data Modeling Books Reshaping the Industry in 2025

Discover authoritative Data Modeling books written by leading experts including Claire Frankel and Pascal Desmarets, capturing new trends in 2025

Updated on June 25, 2025
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The Data Modeling landscape changed dramatically in 2024, driven by advances in database technologies and the growing complexity of data ecosystems. As organizations face increasing demands for agile, scalable, and nuanced data structures, the insights captured in the latest books reveal how to navigate this evolving terrain effectively. These new releases focus on bridging traditional modeling techniques with emerging paradigms such as JSON-relational duality, NoSQL, and spatial databases, offering you a window into the future of data design.

These seven books stand out because their authors bring deep, practical expertise combined with forward-thinking perspectives. Claire Frankel’s work tailors data models specifically for the financial sector’s complexities, while Pascal Desmarets pioneers approaches to polyglot persistence and JSON-relational schema design. Markus Ehrenmueller-Jensen and Steve Hoberman contribute authoritative guides that blend foundational principles with modern tooling across Power BI, MarkLogic, and DynamoDB platforms. Their collective knowledge offers you trusted frameworks and innovative strategies crafted by those shaping the field.

While these cutting-edge books provide the latest insights, readers seeking the newest content tailored to their specific Data Modeling goals might consider creating a personalized Data Modeling book that builds on these emerging trends. This option lets you focus on your unique background and objectives, integrating fresh research and practical examples into a custom learning experience.

Best for financial data specialists
This book stands out in data modeling by providing a targeted collection of conceptual and logical models specifically for banking, finance, and insurance applications. Claire Frankel’s work addresses the complexities of financial data structures with clear patterns for savings, loans, securities, and insurance lines, bridging traditional ledger systems with modern database technologies like relational and NoSQL. The book also guides you through translating these models into physical designs suitable for analytics, including star schemas, making it a practical resource for professionals designing foundational financial data systems.
2024·101 pages·Data Modeling, Financial Systems, Database Design, Banking, Insurance

What happens when deep financial domain expertise meets data modeling? Claire Frankel offers detailed conceptual and logical data models tailored for banking, finance, and insurance sectors. You’ll gain insight into designing databases for products like mortgages, credit cards, equities, and insurance policies, plus how to translate these models into physical designs optimized for analytics, including star schemas. This book suits business specialists, analysts, regulators, and IT professionals who need a practical roadmap for building foundational financial data systems. Its focused approach helps you move beyond generic modeling to solutions that fit complex financial workflows and regulatory demands.

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Pascal Desmarets is the founder and CEO of Hackolade, a tool designed for modeling NoSQL databases and JSON in RDBMS. His expertise in polyglot data persistence and commitment to Metadata-as-Code principles inform this book, which aims to help you grasp the nuances of Oracle Database 23ai’s JSON-Relational Duality. Drawing on his pioneering work, Pascal connects complex modeling theory with Oracle’s practical features, offering you a pathway to enhance your database designs with emerging technologies.
Oracle Database 23ai Data Modeling and Schema Design for JSON-Relational Duality book cover

by Pascal Desmarets, Beda Hammerschmidt, Steve Hoberman··You?

2024·236 pages·Data Modeling, Database Schema, Oracle Database, JSON Modeling, Schema Design

Pascal Desmarets, renowned for pioneering polyglot data modeling and leading Hackolade, brings a fresh lens to the evolving intersection of relational and document databases. This book introduces the innovative concept of JSON-Relational Duality, guiding you through aligning business vocabulary, refining requirements, and designing schemas tailored to Oracle Database 23ai's capabilities. You’ll navigate conceptual to physical modeling layers and understand how to merge the strengths of JSON and relational paradigms, enhancing your ability to architect versatile database solutions. If you’re involved in data architecture or database development and eager to expand beyond traditional models, this text provides concrete frameworks and insights specific to Oracle’s latest advancements.

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Best for custom discovery paths
This AI-created book on data modeling is tailored to your specific skill level and interests in the latest 2025 developments. You provide your background and the particular areas you want to explore, and the book focuses on cutting-edge insights that match your goals. This personalized approach helps you engage directly with emerging knowledge and stay ahead in this rapidly evolving field.
2025·50-300 pages·Data Modeling, Emerging Trends, Advanced Techniques, Schema Innovation, NoSQL Integration

This tailored book explores the dynamic landscape of data modeling as it stands in 2025, focusing on the latest developments and emerging insights that are shaping this evolving discipline. It examines new data structures, innovative modeling techniques, and the integration of cutting-edge technologies, all aligned with your unique background and goals. By concentrating precisely on your interests, it reveals how these breakthroughs impact real-world applications and data ecosystems. The personalized content ensures that you engage deeply with the most relevant trends and discoveries, fostering a richer understanding of how data modeling continues to transform in response to growing complexity and novel demands.

Tailored Handbook
Schema Innovation
3,000+ Books Created
Best for open-source database designers
Database Design and Modeling with PostgreSQL and MySQL offers a thorough exploration of modern database architecture, focused on open-source platforms widely used in today’s applications. It guides you through foundational and advanced elements of database design and modeling, supported by practical examples and exercises. The book addresses critical challenges like scalability, concurrency, and integration with web and mobile technologies while highlighting emerging developments such as NoSQL databases and cloud solutions. This resource is well suited for software developers, database administrators, and IT professionals looking to stay current with evolving database technologies and build efficient, scalable systems.
2024·222 pages·Database Design, Databases, Data Modeling, SQL Optimization, Transaction Management

Drawing from their combined expertise in database administration and software development, the authors delve into the practicalities of designing efficient databases with PostgreSQL and MySQL. You’ll learn how to construct schemas, create entity-relationship diagrams, and apply normalization techniques, progressing to advanced concepts like concurrency control, sharding, and transaction management. The book also covers integrating these databases with modern web and mobile applications, reflecting emerging trends such as NoSQL and cloud-based solutions. This makes it particularly useful if you’re a developer or IT professional wanting to master scalable, real-world database architectures without needing prior deep experience in these specific platforms.

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Best for Power BI data modelers
Markus Ehrenmueller-Jensen, founder of Savory Data and a Microsoft Data Platform MVP, brings decades of expertise in data engineering and business intelligence to this book. Drawing on his roles as a professor and consultant, he unpacks Power BI's data modeling capabilities with detailed examples across DAX, Power Query, and T-SQL. His extensive practical experience shapes an authoritative guide for anyone looking to elevate their Power BI skills beyond basics to enterprise-level solutions.
2024·482 pages·Data Modeling, Business Intelligence, Power BI, DAX, Power Query

Markus Ehrenmueller-Jensen leverages his extensive experience in data engineering and business intelligence to address a critical gap in Power BI usage: effective data modeling. This book guides you through foundational and advanced techniques using Power BI, Analysis Services tabular models, and SQL databases, with concrete examples in DAX, Power Query, and T-SQL. You'll learn to handle normalization, dimensional modeling, and performance optimization, including practical challenges like slowly changing dimensions and composite models. Whether you're building a data warehouse layer or refining existing models, the text offers clear, incremental steps that deepen your understanding and sharpen your skills.

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Best for MarkLogic schema architects
Steve Hoberman has been a data modeler for over 30 years and authored nine books on data modeling. As founder of the Design Challenges group and recipient of the DAMA International Professional Achievement Award, he brings unmatched expertise to this work. This book reflects his deep experience and commitment to evolving data modeling practices, focusing on practical strategies tailored for MarkLogic. Hoberman’s guidance helps you bridge conceptual frameworks with real-world schema design challenges.
MarkLogic Data Modeling and Schema Design book cover

by Sandy Davis, Biju George, Steve Hoberman··You?

2024·342 pages·Data Modeling, Database Schema, Schema Design, Conceptual Modeling, Logical Modeling

What started as a way to simplify complex database design became a fresh perspective on schema development tailored for MarkLogic users. Steve Hoberman and his co-authors draw on decades of experience to introduce the Align > Refine > Design framework, which redefines traditional conceptual, logical, and physical modeling stages with practical clarity. You’ll learn how to establish a common business vocabulary, capture essential requirements, and then tailor your schema designs to specific software and hardware nuances. The book’s animal shelter case study grounds these concepts in reality, making it easier for you to apply the approach to your own projects. If you work with MarkLogic or want to deepen your schema design skills, this book offers a structured path without overcomplication.

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Best for custom future-proofing
This AI-created book on future-ready data modeling is crafted based on your background, skill level, and specific interests in emerging technologies. It focuses on the challenges and innovations shaping data models in 2025, tailored to your goals for staying current and adaptable. By honing in on what matters most to you, this personalized guide offers a clear path through complex developments, making it easier to prepare your models for tomorrow’s demands.
2025·50-300 pages·Data Modeling, Emerging Technologies, Schema Design, NoSQL Databases, Spatial Databases

This tailored book explores the evolving landscape of data modeling as it stands in 2025, focusing on how emerging technologies transform conventional approaches. It examines the latest developments—from advances in NoSQL and spatial databases to dynamic schema design—providing a personalized guide that matches your background and specific goals. By concentrating on your interests, this book reveals how to future-proof data models against upcoming challenges and innovations, making complex concepts accessible and relevant. Through a focused lens, it uncovers insights about adapting models for agility, scalability, and novel data types, offering a unique, tailored journey into the forefront of data modeling advancements.

Tailored Guide
Emerging Tech Insights
3,000+ Books Created
Best for spatial data professionals
What happens when geographic information systems meet database management? This book by Michael E Kirshteyn Ph.D offers a detailed exploration of spatial data modeling, focusing on how geographic data can be effectively stored, queried, and visualized. It covers everything from core spatial data types to advanced topics like real-time data and interoperability, making it a valuable resource for professionals eager to deepen their knowledge in spatial databases. Whether your interest lies in urban planning, environmental monitoring, or logistics, this guide maps out the emerging trends and practical techniques shaping the field.
2024·153 pages·Data Modeling, Database Management, Spatial Indexing, GIS, Data Integration

Michael E Kirshteyn Ph.D approaches spatial data modeling with a depth born from his academic rigor and practical insights into geographic information systems. You’ll learn how spatial data types and indexing methods work within modern databases, supported by detailed case studies spanning urban planning to precision agriculture. The chapters on data integration and real-time data challenges offer concrete techniques for handling complex, heterogeneous datasets. If your work involves GIS or any spatially-referenced data, this book equips you with the frameworks to represent and analyze spatial information effectively.

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Best for DynamoDB schema specialists
Pascal Desmarets, founder and CEO of Hackolade and a pioneer in polyglot data modeling, brings his extensive experience to this book. Focused on DynamoDB, his work introduces a stepwise Align > Refine > Design approach that addresses both business and technical needs. This methodology reflects his commitment to bridging conceptual understanding with practical schema design, making the book a valuable guide for those looking to advance in modern data modeling.
DynamoDB Data Modeling and Schema Design book cover

by Pascal Desmarets, Steve Hoberman··You?

2024·250 pages·Data Modeling, Database Schema, DynamoDB, Schema Design, Conceptual Modeling

After analyzing numerous data modeling challenges specific to DynamoDB, Pascal Desmarets and Steve Hoberman developed a methodical approach that redefines schema design for this NoSQL platform. Their Align > Refine > Design framework guides you from establishing a shared business vocabulary to capturing precise requirements and then crafting database-specific physical designs. For example, the book walks you through modeling perspectives ranging from conceptual to physical with a practical animal shelter case study illustrating each step. If you're a data professional aiming to deepen your DynamoDB expertise or a technologist seeking refined schema design skills, this book provides structured insights tailored to your needs.

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Conclusion

Across these seven books, a few clear themes emerge: the blending of relational and NoSQL paradigms, domain-specific modeling with deep business context, and the growing importance of spatial and real-time data representation. Authors emphasize adaptability—how to design data models that respond to evolving technologies and business needs without losing clarity or performance.

If you want to stay ahead of trends or dive into the latest research, start with Pascal Desmarets’s work on JSON-Relational Duality and Claire Frankel’s financial domain models. For cutting-edge implementation, combine Markus Ehrenmueller-Jensen’s Power BI modeling techniques with Steve Hoberman’s practical schema design frameworks in MarkLogic and DynamoDB. These pairings offer both conceptual depth and applied strategies.

Alternatively, you can create a personalized Data Modeling book to apply the newest strategies and latest research to your specific situation. These books offer the most current 2025 insights and can help you stay ahead of the curve in your Data Modeling endeavors.

Frequently Asked Questions

I'm overwhelmed by choice – which book should I start with?

Start with a book that matches your focus area. For financial data, Claire Frankel’s book offers targeted models. If you work with Oracle, Pascal Desmarets’s text introduces fresh schema design ideas. Picking based on your platform or domain helps you gain relevant knowledge quickly.

Are these books too advanced for someone new to Data Modeling?

Not at all. Many books, like the PostgreSQL and MySQL guide, are accessible and build foundational skills progressively. Others offer specialized insights but include conceptual explanations that can help newcomers grow into advanced topics.

What’s the best order to read these books?

Begin with broad foundational texts such as Database Design with PostgreSQL and MySQL, then explore specialized areas like Power BI modeling or DynamoDB schema design. This builds a solid base before diving into platform-specific or domain-focused strategies.

Do these books assume I already have experience in Data Modeling?

Some do expect familiarity with basic concepts, but many provide clear frameworks and explanations to guide readers. Books by Markus Ehrenmueller-Jensen and Steve Hoberman, for example, offer stepwise methods suitable for intermediate learners expanding their expertise.

Will these 2025 insights still be relevant next year?

Yes, these books focus on enduring principles as well as emerging trends. Concepts like JSON-Relational Duality or spatial data modeling are becoming foundational in modern architectures, ensuring their relevance beyond just 2025.

How can I get tailored Data Modeling insights without reading multiple full books?

While these expert books offer valuable knowledge, personalized content can complement them by focusing precisely on your goals and background. Consider creating a personalized Data Modeling book to efficiently apply the latest research and strategies to your specific needs.

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