Building a Scalable Data Foundation in Health Tech | Anna Swigart | Shift Left Data Conference 2025

In healthcare technology, protecting patient privacy while scaling data operations requires reimagining where quality and governance live. This presentation explores Helix's journey of shifting critical processes left in its precision medicine business—from implementing automated data classification and privacy workflows to enlisting cross-functional expertise in refining operational workflows. For clinical data management, we've partnered with healthcare systems to implement OMOP standards and data contracts at the source, creating a robust foundation for research and commercial opportunities. Through practical examples, we'll demonstrate how this upstream approach has transformed our data operations, encouraged internal alignment, and strengthened partner relationships.

Panel: Shift Left Across the Data Lifecycle—Data Contracts, Transformations, Observability, and Catalogs | Prukalpa Sankar, Tristan Handy, Barr Moses, Chad Sanderson | Shift Left Data Conference 2025

Join industry-leading CEOs Chad (Data Contracts), Tristan (Data Transformations), Barr (Data Observability), and Prukalpa (Data Catalogs) who are pioneering new approaches to operationalizing data by “Shifting Left.” This engaging panel will explore how embedding rigorous data management practices early in the data lifecycle reduces issues downstream, enhances data reliability, and empowers software engineers with clear visibility into data expectations. Attendees will gain insights into how data contracts define accountability, how effective transformations ensure data usability at scale, how proactive how proactive data and AI observability drives continuous confidence in data quality, and how catalogs enable data discoverability, accelerating innovation and trust across organizations.

Wayfair’s Multi-year Data Mesh Journey | Nachiket Mehta and Piyush Tiwari | Shift Left Data Conference 2025

Wayfair’s multi-year Data Mesh journey involved shifting from a monolithic, centralized data model to a decentralized, domain-driven architecture built on microservices. By embracing Data Mesh principles, Wayfair empowered domain teams to take end-to-end ownership of their data.

Key enablers included a data contract management platform ensure trusted, discoverable data products, and the development of Taxon, an internal ontology and knowledge graph that unified semantics across domains while supporting the company's tech modernization.

Organizationally, Wayfair introduced an Embedded Data Engineering model – embedding data engineers within domain teams – to instill a “Data-as-a-Product” mindset among data producers. This sociotechnical shift ensured that those who create data also own its quality, documentation, and evolution, rather than relying on a centralized BI team. As a result, Wayfair’s data producers are now accountable for well-defined, high-quality data products, and data consumers can more easily discover and trust data through the unified catalog and ontology.

The presentation will highlight how Wayfair has adopted the “shift left” (pushing data ownership and quality to the source teams) and next heading towards “shift right” (focusing on consumer-driven data products and outcomes) to unlock business outcomes. This session will share both technical strategies and business results from Wayfair’s Data Mesh journey.

Data Contracts in the Real World, the Adevinta Spain Implementation | Sergio Catoira | Shift Left Data Conference 2025

This talk covers Adevinta Spain's transition from a best-effort governance model to a governed data integration system by design. By creating source-aligned data products, this shift aims to enhance data quality and reliability from the moment data is ingested.

Shifting From Reactive to Proactive at Glassdoor | Zakariah Siyaji | Shift Left Data Conference 2025

As Glassdoor scaled to petabytes of data, ensuring data quality became critical for maintaining trust and supporting strategic decisions. Glassdoor implemented a proactive, “shift left” strategy focused on embedding data quality practices directly into the development process. This talk will detail how Glassdoor leveraged data contracts, static code analysis integrated into the CI/CD pipeline, and automated anomaly detection to empower software engineers and prevent data issues at the source. Attendees will learn how proactive data quality management reduces risk, promotes stronger collaboration across teams, enhances operational efficiency, and fosters a culture of trust in data at scale.