Data Transforming Business

Inclusivity and accessibility remain some of the biggest challenges for data events. True inclusion is not the result of a single initiative, but continuous effort, honest reflection, and a willingness to listen to the community. At Big Data LDN, these values are rooted in the event’s mission. By highlighting both established leaders and emerging voices, the conference creates a stage where diverse perspectives can shine, while fostering a welcoming environment where every attendee feels they belong.In this episode of Don’t Panic, It’s Just Data podcast, host Trisha Pillay is joined by Andy Steed, Event Director at Big Data LDN, and Roisin McCarthy, Founder of Women in Data. The conversation examines how Big Data LDN has become a cornerstone of the data community over the past decade and why advancing inclusivity is crucial to the conference’s continued impact in its 10th year.A Decade of Big Data LDNOver the past 10 years, Big Data LDN has grown beyond a

Big Data LDN (BDL), the ultimate data event of the year, celebrates its 10th anniversary this year. This year’s event is scheduled to take place on September 24 and 25, with a brand-new deep-dive conference held on September 23. In this episode of the Don't Panic, It's Just Data podcast, host Shubhangi Dua, Podcast Producer and B2B Tech Journalist at EM360Tech, speaks with Michael Ferguson, CEO of Intelligent Business Strategies and BDL Conference Chair, and Palesa Amadi, BDL Conference Manager. The speakers provide a sneak peek of the upcoming Big Data LDN conference. They discuss how AI affects data and analytics, and spotlight the importance of data governance. Additionally, they talk about the different theatres and sessions available at the conference. The conversation also shines a light on keynotes and notable speakers, the changes in data engineering and architecture, and the learning opportunities for attendees. AI Agents, Data Products in the LimelightGet read

In this episode of the Don't Panic, It's Just Data podcast, Kevin Petrie, VP of Research at BARC and the podcast host, is joined by Dainius Jocas, Search Engineer at Vinted, and Radu Gheorghe, Software Engineer at Vespa.ai. They discuss how Vinted, an online marketplace for secondhand products, modernised its data architecture to address new AI search use cases and the challenges faced with Elasticsearch. From the switch to Vespa and the advantages of supporting multiple languages and complex queries, the podcast offers insights on the trade-offs organisations must think about when updating their search systems, especially regarding AI and machine learning applications.Vinted Elasticsearch ChallengesVinted’s search architecture was built on Elasticsearch before they switched to Vespa. Elasticsearch is a functional system that presents a few major challenges. With over 20 supported languages, the company's "index per language" approach created significant sharding problems, l

In this episode of the Don't Panic It's Just Data podcast, Christina Stathopoulos talks with Miller and Michael Wiley, Sr. Product Manager of Spreadsheet Server. They discuss the challenges and solutions in financial reporting, focusing on real-time reporting from ERP systems to Excel.The discussion covers the current state of financial reporting, the obstacles finance departments encounter, and how tools like Spreadsheet Server can help. Such tools allow finance teams to become strategic partners in their organizations. The conversation also shares real-world applications and case studies, showing how these solutions affect efficiency and decision-making.The speakers share imperative insights on how enterprises can remake their finance teams from traditional "bean counters" to proactive strategic partners within their organizations. This is driven by the power of real-time data and efficient reporting.From ERP to ExcelConsidering how advancements, especially with AI in the picture, the busines

"Customers are now expecting highly personalised, seamless, and efficient interactions across all the touch points,” stated Rahul Sareen, the Senior Leader–Cross Industry, Private Equity and Startups Solutions at Amazon Web Services (AWS). Sareen’s statement represents the state of customer experience (CX) today. It’s a demand that is forcing businesses to completely rethink how they engage with customers.In the recent episode of the Don’t Panic It’s Just Data podcast, John Santaferraro, CEO and Head Research Analyst at Ferraro Consulting, speaks to Gary Class, Industry Strategist, Financial Services at Teradata and Sareen. They discussed how data, AI, and hyper-personalisation are reshaping customer experience (CX). The time of one-size-fits-all customer service is long over. Sareen emphasises this change by quoting Jeff Bezos: "If you have 4.5 million customers, then you cannot just build one store. You have to build 4.5 million stores." This isn't just about div

Enterprises face one common problem: the hidden costs of AI-based technical debt.“There’s a lot of hype around AI, but many initiatives aren't founded in a business value proposition,” says Paul Brownell, CTO, Growth Acceleration Partners (GAP). “People wander in without an intentional path for ROI.” In this episode of the Don't Panic, It's Just Data podcast, host Douglas Laney, BARC Research and Advisory Fellow, and author of Infonomics and Data Juice, speaks with Paul Brownell from GAP and Frank Lavigne, Advisory Board Member of CloudArmy.The speakers ultimately agree that AI promises greater returns on investment (ROI). However, it’s imperative to note – without a strong data foundation and strategy, AI can quickly turn into a financial nightmare.AI’s Potential to Cause Technical Debt Alluding to a significant “leak in the bucket” for AI initiatives, Brownell says, "a lot of these projects aren't founded in a business value proposition." This can often lead to organi

Organisations often find themselves trapped in an infinite loop. Typically hailed as an "infinity loop" or "patching loop,” it’s differentiated by a continuous cycle of fixing problems, patching, and redoing data pipelines just to maintain operations.“It's a trap that many financial institutions, banks, insurance companies, and more fall into. This loop or this cycle is a process of focusing on fixing problems, patching,” describes Errol Rodericks.In this episode of the Don't Panic It's Just Data podcast, Errol Rodericks, Product & Solutions Marketing and Sales Enablement Specialist at Denodo, discusses the challenges faced by financial services in steering the infinity loop of reactive data management. He emphasises the importance of breaking free from this cycle to achieve real innovation and success in AI-led initiatives. The conversation explores the significance of AI-ready data, the journey from bronze to gold data products, and how Denodo helps bridge the last-mile gap in data management. 

Blending financial planning directly into existing business intelligence (BI) platforms like Microsoft Power BI and Qlik are on the rise. But have you questioned why, and what drives this shift? In this episode of the Don’t Panic It’s Just Data podcast, Kevin Petrie, BARC analyst, sits down to chat with Thomas Gorr, Director of Product Management for xP&A and BI at insightsoftware, and Henri Rufin, Head of Responsible Data & Analytics at Radiall.The speakers stress how the integration of financial planning in BI platforms is driven by the need to move beyond traditional Excel-based planning. This is because it often leads to data silos and errors. Their conversation spotlights how integrated BI and planning solutions improve collaboration across departments. Going deeper, BI can also provide a unified view of data and help organizations be more agile and proactive in volatile markets.Gorr and Rufin explain how separating your financial data makes less sense, and why traditiona

In this episode of the Don’t Panic, It’s Just Data podcast, Kevin Petrie, VP of Research at BARC, is joined by Nidhi Ram, Vice President of Global Services Strategy and Operational Excellence at Precisely. The duo explore the idea of focusing on data modernisation and improving accessibility rather than constantly implementing new technologies.Both Petrie and Ram highlight the importance of traditional mainframes, especially in modern data strategies. They delve into how companies can combine cloud tools with data in order to handle diverse data systems. This removes the need for replacing the mainframe, keeping the data accessible for all users.Going into the critical role of data quality and governance — especially in the age of AI — Ram emphasises that “garbage in, garbage out” has never been more relevant, as AI outputs are only as good as the data feeding the model.What's needed is a more comprehensive approach to data integration, quality, governance, and enrichment that helps ensure data is a

In this episode of the Don't Panic, It's Just Data podcast, hosted by EM360Tech's podcast producer, Shubhangi Dua speaks to Donnie Owsley from Snohomish County, and Jeff Burton and Tom Lavery from the University of British Columbia. All of the speakers will be presenting at the upcoming Peak of Data and AI event, organised by Safe Software, the creators of FME. Scheduled to take place in Seattle from May 5th to 8th, 2025, The Peak is an exciting gathering for data and AI innovators. This conversation offers a preview of some of the practical applications and insights that will be shared at the event.The podcast also talks about the development of creative solutions for enhancing accessibility in urban environments. The UBC speakers particularly refer to their creation of an accessible university campus navigation system, a project that showcases the power of integrating FME with platforms like ArcGIS. This discussion spotlights the challenges and ingenuity involved in building in

In this episode of "Don't Panic, It's Just Data," host Christina Stathopoulos explores the world of real-time analytics and its impact on financial decision-making. She is joined by Thomas Gore, insightsoftware's Director of Product Management for extended planning and analysis (XP&A), and Cody Riemenschneider, Director of Solutions Engineering, and they discuss the challenges and opportunities of integrating real-time data into finance.

"So you want trusted data, but you want it now? Building this trust really starts with transparency and collaboration. It's not just technology. It's about creating a single governed view of data that is consistent no matter who accesses it, " says Errol Rodericks, Director of Product Marketing at Denodo.In this episode of the 'Don't Panic, It's Just Data' podcast, Shawn Rogers, CEO at BARC US, speaks with Errol Rodericks from Denodo. They explore the crucial link between trusted data and successful AI initiatives.  They discuss key factors such as data orchestration, governance, and cost management within complex cloud environments. We've all heard the horror stories – AI projects that fail spectacularly, delivering biased or inaccurate results. But what's the root cause of these failures? More often than not, it's a lack of focus on the data itself. Rodericks emphasises that "AI is only as good as the data it's trained on." This episode explores how organisations can avoid the "garbage in, ga

In this episode of our 'Don't Panic, It's Just Data' podcast series, Christina Stathopoulos, Founder at Dare to Data, speaks with Matthew Cawsey and Arnjah Dillard from Stibo Systems. Matthew and Arnjah explain the importance of CMDM and CXDC for maintaining positive customer engagement. Learn how to move from basic personalisation, ethically use data, leverage AI for a better customer experience. Let’s transform your messy data into a competitive advantage.

In the latest episode of the Don’t Panic It’s Just Data podcast, we connected with speakers who provided a preview of their presentations at the upcoming Peak of Data and AI event in Seattle organised by Safe Software from May 5-8, 2025. This premier gathering, hosted by Safe Software, the creators of FME, will be a hub for data and AI innovators, and this podcast episode offers an exclusive look into what attendees can expect.Our conversation featured Margaret Smith and Reshma Joy from the West Virginia Department of Transportation. They shared their crucial work in ensuring data integrity through rigorous validations of their Linear Reference System data. This foundational work underpins much of their operational efficiency and decision-making. They further revealed how they’ve achieved seamless integration between Survey123 and their R&H data, showcasing a strong example of how disparate systems can be harmonized for greater insight. This presentation will provide attendees with actionable strateg

"There's been a lot of wrangling of data, a lot of wrangling of humans as well, which is a big theme for today," says Warwick Leitch, Product Management Director at insightsoftware.In this episode of the 'Don't Panic, It's Just Data' podcast, Debbie Reynolds, CEO and Chief Data Privacy Officer at Debbie Reynolds Consulting LLC, speaks with Leitch from insightsoftware. They discuss the vital role of financial strategy and collaborative planning, particularly as it pertains to the decisions made by IT executives.The question they address is: In a world awash with data, how do we transform it into actionable insights? Warwick shares his wealth of experience, offering practical advice and illuminating the path to successful budgeting and forecasting.One such challenge addressed in the podcast is how organisations are securing executive buy-in. "And 51 percent of people find it difficult to engage senior executives to buy into the process, which is a roadblock. And 57 percent of organisations struggle cr

The digital age is fueled by data, and the engines powering that data are data centres. However, this growth comes at a significant energy cost. In the latest episode of the EM360Tech Don’t Panic It’s Just Data podcast, Shubhangi Dua speaks with Rolf Bienert, Technical & Managing Director of the OpenADR Alliance, to shed light on the urgent need for sustainable energy practices within the data centres industry. In this episode, we discuss the stark reality of escalating energy consumption, driven by factors like the rise of AI, and the critical importance of moving beyond superficial "green" initiatives to implement genuine, impactful solutions.From talking about the historical context of data centres energy usage, the evolution of energy demands and the challenges of achieving net-zero goals, Rolf provides valuable insights into innovative solutions such as smart grids, microgrids, and virtual power plants. These hold immense potential for managing energy distribution efficiently and sustainably.&nb

As organisations strive to stay competitive in the age of AI, data trust has become a critical factor for success. Without it, even the most advanced AI initiatives are bound to fall short.With the rapid advancement of technology, prioritising trust in data is essential for unlocking AI's full potential and driving meaningful results. Conversely, a lack of data trust can undermine decision-making, operational efficiency, and the success of AI initiatives.In this episode, Christina Stathopoulos, Founder at Dare to Data, speaks to Jay Limburn, Chief Product Officer at Ataccama, to explore these pressing topics. Together, they share actionable insights, real-world examples, and innovative strategies to help businesses harness the power of trusted data.Key TakeawaysData trust is essential for confident decision-making.AI can significantly reduce mundane tasks.Organizations must focus on their data strategy.Customer experience is a key area for AI application.Data teams are crucial for successful AI initiatives.Pr

The San Antonio River Authority (SARA) has experienced a transformative shift in data management, thanks to the powerful capabilities of FME. By integrating FME, SARA has streamlined data integration, improved efficiency, and enhanced decision-making processes across multiple departments. FME’s ability to automate data transformation, standardise formats, and manage large volumes of spatial data has allowed the authority to optimise workflows, reduce manual errors, and accelerate project timelines.A key highlight of SARA’s success with FME is its use in predictive flood modelling and the standardisation of data workflows. By leveraging FME, SARA can more accurately predict flood risks, improving public safety and response times. This innovation not only enhances internal operations but also helps SARA lead in sustainable water management. With its versatility in handling diverse data sources and streamlining communication between systems, FME is a powerful investment for organisations seeking to improve opera

SummaryThis discussion explores the complexities and strategies surrounding edge computing and data management, highlighting the importance of security, the challenges of vendor lock-in, the implications of data repatriation, and the necessity of ensuring high-quality data for AI systems. It emphasises the need for organisations to balance edge processing with centralised storage while future-proofing their data strategies against rapid technological changes.Building on their discussion, Jimmy Tam highlights the transformative role of edge computing in modern data management, emphasising the importance of governance, compliance, and interoperability to address the challenges of data sprawl and vendor lock-in. TakeawaysEdge computing is transforming how organisations manage data.Security at the edge is paramount to prevent intrusions.Data sprawl poses significant challenges for edge data management.Governance and compliance are essential for effective data management.Vendor lock-in can limit flexibility and ad

In today’s data-driven world, real-time analytics has become a cornerstone for businesses seeking to make smarter, faster decisions. From enhancing user experiences to enabling continuous intelligence, the ability to process data in real-time is transforming industries. Yet, challenges such as legacy systems and the demand for innovative data management approaches persist.This episode explores the evolution of real-time analytics and its crucial role in modern data processing. We delve into how technology is reshaping the way businesses interact with data and the importance of user-centric design in creating powerful data applications.Joining Christina Stathopoulos, Founder of Dare to Data, is Rahul Rastogi, Chief Innovation Officer at SingleStore. Together, they discuss the necessity of real-time data in today’s fast-paced business environment, tackle the challenges organizations face in adapting to this shift, and highlight how data serves as the foundation for AI-driven innovation. Don’t miss this ins