Cloudflare introduces its new Data Platform, which combines R2 SQL, Pipelines, and R2 Data Catalog to provide interoperable, scalable, and affordable data management without egress fees.

Cloudflare has introduced a new solution, the Cloudflare Data Platform, aimed at overseeing the ingestion, storage, and querying of analytical data tables. The platform utilizes Cloudflare’s worldwide infrastructure and focuses on open standards and interoperability, offering users flexibility and cost-effectiveness.

The Data Platform is made up of three essential solutions. Cloudflare Pipelines enables users to receive events transmitted through Workers or HTTP, manipulate them using SQL, and load them into Iceberg or as files on R2. R2 Data Catalog handles Iceberg metadata and currently carries out continuous maintenance tasks, like compaction, to improve query performance. Ultimately, R2 SQL functions as Cloudflare’s proprietary distributed SQL engine, designed to execute petabyte-scale queries directly on data held in R2.

A major benefit of the platform is its ability to work across different systems. Users have the option to utilize their own Iceberg query engines, including PyIceberg, DuckDB, or Spark, while also connecting with data platforms such as Databricks and Snowflake. Furthermore, Cloudflare has highlighted that users won’t incur any egress charges to retrieve their data.

The Cloudflare Data Platform is currently accessible for event ingestion into R2 Data Catalog and for executing queries using R2 SQL. Moving forward, the company intends to broaden its capabilities over the course of 2026. Upcoming features will include Logpush integration for direct log transformation, storage, and querying within Cloudflare; user-defined functions via Workers that support stateful processing for streaming modifications; and improved R2 SQL capabilities that encompass aggregations and joins.

Cloudflare highlighted that its connectivity cloud presently secures corporate networks, enhances internet applications, and defends against threats such as DDoS attacks. By introducing the Cloudflare Data Platform, the company aims to improve businesses' capacity to create and manage internet-scale applications while reducing costs and complexities in data management.