SydalBetter designs in a quarter of the time.
Connect read-only to Databricks, Azure, SQL Server and Power BI. Sydal (Systems & Data Lineage) puts your software, systems and data in one view, building architecture diagrams and column-level lineage from what's actually running, and re-syncing when it changes. It runs on your PC: no SaaS account, and no metadata leaves your company.
Windows desktop app (installer or MSI), plus an optional browser version you host yourself. Map your first platform in an hour, not a quarter-long rollout.
Illustration of a lineage view, not a product screenshot.
The problem
Your diagrams are out of date, and nobody trusts them.
Architecture lives in slide decks and diagrams drawn by hand. The platform changes every week, and the gap shows up the first time someone asks a simple question.
Stale the week they're drawn
Hand-drawn diagrams drift from reality straight away, so people stop relying on them.
"What breaks if we change this column?"
Answering it takes days of asking around across teams, code and reports.
Two tools, neither complete
Catalogs trace data but don't draw architecture. Drawing tools draw architecture but don't know your lineage.
Rollouts take a quarter
Enterprise architecture suites take months to load with data, and they're cloud-hosted, which many security teams push back on.
Who it's for
Made for the people who own the platform diagram.
Data-platform architects
Azure, Databricks and Power BI/Fabric estates where column lineage stops at a platform boundary. Trace SQL Server → Data Factory → lakehouse → report in one view.
Data and IT consultancies
Map a client's platform in your first session, not your first month. Client metadata stays on your laptop, not in a third-party SaaS. Deliver in PowerPoint, Visio or a published read-only site.
Solution architects
C4, Azure-standard and executive diagrams generated from what's deployed, so the design review starts from reality instead of last quarter's slide.
How it works
Connect, model, view, share.
One model for your software, systems and data. Every diagram is a view of one live model of your estate, so you stop redrawing and start re-syncing.
Connect
Read-only sign-in with Entra ID, service principals, key pairs or CLIs. Secrets are used once and never saved.
Model
Everything merges into one model. For example, the SalesDB found in your C# code, in Azure and on the server becomes one element, so lineage runs end to end.
View
Every diagram is a view of the model. Re-sync updates them, and changes arrive as a draft you can review.
Share
PowerPoint, Visio, draw.io, PDF up to 11×17/A3, PNG/SVG, a share card for Teams or Slack, or a read-only published site with diagrams, a searchable catalog and a glossary.
Typical first run: connect a workspace, sync, and have a platform map in about an hour. That's the target, not a benchmark, and it depends on your estate and on which connectors are Preview.
Key features
Lineage and architecture in one tool.
Catalogs don't draw architecture, and drawing tools don't know lineage. Sydal does both, from one model, for teams on Azure, Databricks, SQL Server and Power BI/Fabric.
Table- and column-level lineage
Follow one column from SQL Server through Data Factory and Databricks to the Power BI measure. Lineage is parsed from stored procedures, views, notebooks and job code, not just what one platform logs.
Impact analysis
Before you change a column, see every table, report and owner downstream. Path-finding lights up every shortest route between two elements.
Load schedules on one timeline
Every job, load and refresh on one 24-hour timeline, across time zones and midnight. Loads that start before their inputs are ready get flagged.
Illustrative example: a load that starts at 3:15 while its input finishes at 3:40 is flagged before the morning report is wrong.
Review-ready diagrams in one click
Azure, AWS, Google Cloud, Databricks, C4, ArchiMate 3.2, Visio/Office or Executive style, with title block, legend and a standards check based on Microsoft Well-Architected diagram guidance.
Data assessment
Likely foreign keys with their evidence, renamed columns, copy-only tables, and key profiling through sampled read-only queries. Nothing changes until you accept it.
Databricks reference architecture
Lay your model out on lakehouse lanes (source, ingest, transform, serve, analysis) with a bronze/silver/gold band and placeholders for what's missing.
Large estates stay readable
Tested smooth with 10,000+ boxes on one diagram. Zones layout and big-picture roll-up keep large views legible.
Optional AI, on your own AI Preview
Runs on your own Azure OpenAI, Databricks serving endpoint, Snowflake Cortex or Claude API, never ours. It proposes changes as cards, and nothing changes until you accept. It can also expose the model to your agents over MCP.
Works with your catalog
Sydal reads from Unity Catalog, Purview, Collibra and Alation and adds what sits around them: SQL Server procedures, Data Factory, Power BI, Terraform and your code. Where platform lineage stops at the table or at its own boundary, Sydal parses the code to carry column lineage across, then draws the result to Azure, C4 or executive standards.
Purview, Collibra, Alation and Terraform connectors are Preview.
Also included: application portfolio (TIME, fit, cost, lifecycle), capability heat maps and roadmaps, owners, glossary, classifications, usage and version history.
Read-only connectors
Supported
Preview
Preview connectors are new in 0.9.3 and have been tested against sample responses, not yet against many live estates. Run one import from each system you rely on before trusting the results. Imports and exports draw.io, Visio, Structurizr DSL and PlantUML, and exports to PowerPoint.
Local-first & security
Short answers for your security review.
Sydal is a desktop app, not a SaaS platform. There is no Sydal cloud to upload your metadata to, and no account to create.
Arch Studio Designs LLC does not currently hold SOC 2 or other certifications.
We're happy to answer your security questions directly; email [email protected].
- Nothing is sent to us. Your model is a file on your computer. It only goes where you send it: an export, a site you publish, or the AI provider you configure.
- Read-only access to every connected system. Key profiling uses sampled read-only queries.
- Secrets used once, never saved. Passwords, tokens and keys are not stored.
- No telemetry. The app doesn't phone home.
- Windows installer or MSI for managed deployment.
- Offline licence keys, checked on the computer with nothing sent anywhere.
- Browser version on your terms. Files stay on each user's computer; host it behind Microsoft or Cloudflare sign-in.
- AI is optional and runs on your own AI provider, never ours.
FAQ
Questions architects ask first
What will our security team ask, and what's the answer?
Sydal is a Windows desktop app (installer or MSI). It connects read-only, uses secrets once without saving them, sends no telemetry and checks licence keys offline. There's no Sydal cloud and no account. Your model is a file on your computer. Arch Studio Designs LLC does not hold SOC 2 or other certifications. Ask us and we'll answer your questionnaire directly.
We already have Purview / Unity Catalog / Fabric lineage. Why add this?
Keep them. Sydal reads from them (the Purview and Fabric connectors are Preview). It adds column lineage across platforms, parsed from stored procedures, notebooks and job code, and turns it into architecture diagrams for design reviews.
What does "read-only" cover?
Connectors read metadata, schedules and usage. Key profiling runs sampled read-only queries. Nothing in your estate is created, changed or deleted.
Does it run on Mac or Linux?
The desktop app is Windows only. The optional browser version can be self-hosted (Azure Static Web Apps or Cloudflare Pages) and keeps files on each user's computer. Connectors, AI and code scanning are desktop-only.
How mature is it?
It's a 0.9.3 Preview. Connectors and AI features marked Preview have been tested against sample responses, so run one import from each system you rely on before trusting the results.
How big a diagram can it handle?
In our testing it stays smooth with 10,000+ boxes on one diagram, and roll-up views keep the big picture readable.
Pricing
One plan. One price.
Start with a 30-day full trial. After it ends, nobody loses their work: models still open and export, and a licence key unlocks editing.
Viewer
Free
For colleagues who read the models, and for everyone after the trial.
- Open and view any Sydal model
- Export your diagrams
- Your work is never locked away when a trial or licence ends
- No account, no sign-up
Professional
$990 per user / year
For architects and engineers who build and maintain the model.
- Everything in Viewer
- Editing, saving and all read-only connectors
- Lineage, impact analysis and data assessment
- One-click design standards and a published read-only site
- Offline licence key: checked on your computer, nothing sent anywhere
- Starts with a 30-day full trial
Prices in USD. Sydal is a 0.9.3 Preview. Same price per user for teams and consultancies. Questions? Contact us.
Free platform-map session
See your own platform mapped in an hour.
Book a free one-hour working session with an architect. There's nothing to send in advance: we set up read-only access together on the call, and you leave with a map of your platform. Questions about connectors, security review or how Sydal fits next to your catalog are welcome too.
- Read-only: nothing in your estate is changed
- No SaaS account: Sydal runs on your PC
- Architect to architect: straight answers, no sales script