The role of data analysts is evolving, not disappearing. With generative AI transforming the industry, many wonder if their analytical skills will soon become obsolete. But how is the relationship between human expertise and AI tools really changing? While AI excels at coding, debugging, and automating repetitive tasks, it struggles with understanding complex business problems and domain-specific challenges. What skills should today's data professionals focus on to remain relevant? How can you leverage AI as a partner rather than viewing it as a replacement? The balance between technical expertise and business acumen has never been more critical in navigating this changing landscape. Mo Chen is a Data & Analytics Manager with over seven years of experience in financial and banking data. Currently at NatWest Group, Mo leads initiatives that enhance data management, automate reporting, and improve decision-making across the organization. After earning an MSc in Finance & Economics from the University of St Andrews, Mo launched a career in risk and credit portfolio management before transitioning into analytics. Blending economics, finance, and data engineering, Mo is skilled at turning large-scale financial data into actionable insight that supports efficiency and strategic planning. Beyond corporate life, Mo has become a passionate educator and community-builder. On YouTube, Mo hosts a fast-growing channel (185K+ subscribers, with millions of views) where he breaks down complex analytics concepts into bite-sized, actionable lessons. In the episode, Richie and Mo explore the evolving role of data analysts, the impact of AI on coding and debugging, the importance of domain knowledge for career switchers, effective communication strategies in data analysis, and much more. Links Mentioned in the Show: Mo’s Website - Build a Data Portfolio WebsiteMo’s YouTube ChannelConnect with MoGet Certified as a Data AnalystRelated Episode: Career Skills for Data Professionals with Wes Kao, Co-Founder of MavenRewatch RADAR AI  New to DataCamp? Learn on the go using the DataCamp mobile appEmpower your business with world-class data and AI skills with DataCamp for business

The relationship between AI and data professionals is evolving rapidly, creating both opportunities and challenges. As companies embrace AI-first strategies and experiment with AI agents, the skills needed to thrive in data roles are fundamentally changing. Is coding knowledge still essential when AI can generate code for you? How important is domain expertise when automated tools can handle technical tasks? With data engineering and analytics engineering gaining prominence, the focus is shifting toward ensuring data quality and building reliable pipelines. But where does the human fit in this increasingly automated landscape, and how can you position yourself to thrive amid these transformations? Megan Bowers is Senior Content Manager, Digital Customer Success at Alteryx, where she develops resources for the Maveryx Community. She writes technical blogs and hosts the Alter Everything podcast, spotlighting best practices from data professionals across the industry. Before joining Alteryx, Megan worked as a data analyst at Stanley Black & Decker, where she led ETL and dashboarding projects and trained teams on Alteryx and Power BI. Her transition into data began after earning a degree in Industrial Engineering and completing a data science bootcamp. Today, she focuses on creating accessible, high-impact content that helps data practitioners grow. Her favorite topics include switching career paths after college, building a professional brand on LinkedIn, writing technical blogs people actually want to read, and best practices in Alteryx, data visualization, and data storytelling. Presented by Alteryx, Alter Everything serves as a podcast dedicated to the culture of data science and analytics, showcasing insights from industry specialists. Covering a range of subjects from the use of machine learning to various analytics career trajectories, and all that lies between, Alter Everything stands as a celebration of the critical role of data literacy in a data-driven world. In the episode, Richie and Megan explore the impact of AI on job functions, the rise of AI agents in business, and the importance of domain knowledge and process analytics in data roles. They also discuss strategies for staying updated in the fast-paced world of AI and data science, and much more. Links Mentioned in the Show: Alter EverythingConnect with MeganSkill Track: Alteryx FundamentalsRelated Episode: Scaling Enterprise Analytics with Libby Duane Adams, Chief Advocacy Officer and Co-Founder of AlteryxRewatch RADAR AI  New to DataCamp? Learn on the go using the DataCamp mobile appEmpower your business with world-class data and AI skills with DataCamp for business

The role of data and AI engineers is more critical than ever. With organizations collecting massive amounts of data, the challenge lies in building efficient data infrastructures that can support AI systems and deliver actionable insights. But what does it take to become a successful data or AI engineer? How do you navigate the complex landscape of data tools and technologies? And what are the key skills and strategies needed to excel in this field?  Deepak Goyal is a globally recognized authority in Cloud Data Engineering and AI. As the Founder & CEO of Azurelib Academy, he has built a trusted platform for advanced cloud education, empowering over 100,000 professionals and influencing data strategies across Fortune 500 companies. With over 17 years of leadership experience, Deepak has been at the forefront of designing and implementing scalable, real-world data solutions using cutting-edge technologies like Microsoft Azure, Databricks, and Generative AI. In the episode, Richie and Deepak explore the fundamentals of data engineering, the critical skills needed, the intersection with AI roles, career paths, and essential soft skills. They also discuss the hiring process, interview tips, and the importance of continuous learning in a rapidly evolving field, and much more. Links Mentioned in the Show: AzureLibAzureLib Academy Connect with DeepakGet Certified! Azure FundamentalsRelated Episode: Effective Data Engineering with Liya Aizenberg, Director of Data Engineering at AwaySign up to attend RADAR: Skills Edition  New to DataCamp? Learn on the go using the DataCamp mobile appEmpower your business with world-class data and AI skills with DataCamp for business

We’re improving DataFramed, and we need your help! We want to hear what you have to say about the show, and how we can make it more enjoyable for you—find out more here. We’re often caught chasing the dream of “self-serve” data—a place where data empowers stakeholders to answer their questions without a data expert at every turn. But what does it take to reach that point? How do you shape tools that empower teams to explore and act on data without the usual bottlenecks? And with the growing presence of natural language tools and AI, is true self-service within reach, or is there still more to the journey? Sameer Al-Sakran is the CEO at Metabase, a low-code self-service analytics company. Sameer has a background in both data science and data engineering so he's got a practitioner's perspective as well as executive insight. Previously, he was CTO at Expa and Blackjet, and the founder of SimpleHadoop and Adopilot. In the episode, Richie and Sameer explore self-serve analytics, the evolution of data tools, GenAI vs AI agents, semantic layers, the challenges of implementing self-serve analytics, the problem with data-driven culture, encouraging efficiency in data teams, the parallels between UX and data projects, exciting trends in analytics, and much more. Links Mentioned in the Show: MetabaseConnect with SameerArticles from Metabase on jargon, information budgets, analytics mistakes, and data model mistakesCourse: Introduction to Data CultureRelated Episode: Towards Self-Service Data Engineering with Taylor Brown, Co-Founder and COO at FivetranRewatch Sessions from RADAR: Forward Edition New to DataCamp? Learn on the go using the DataCamp mobile appEmpower your business with world-class data and AI skills with DataCamp for business

Businesses are collecting more data than ever before. But is bigger always better? Many companies are starting to question whether massive datasets and complex infrastructure are truly delivering results or just adding unnecessary costs and complications. How can you make sure your data strategy is aligned with your actual needs? What if focusing on smaller, more manageable datasets could improve your efficiency and save resources, all while delivering the same insights? Ryan Boyd is the Co-Founder & VP, Marketing + DevRel at MotherDuck. Ryan started his career as a software engineer, but since has led DevRel teams for 15+ years at Google, Databricks and Neo4j, where he developed and executed numerous marketing and DevRel programs. Prior to MotherDuck, Ryan worked at Databricks and focussed the team on building an online community during the pandemic, helping to organize the content and experience for an online Data + AI Summit, establishing a regular cadence of video and blog content, launching the Databricks Beacons ambassador program, improving the time to an “aha” moment in the online trial and launching a University Alliance program to help professors teach the latest in data science, machine learning and data engineering. In the episode, Richie and Ryan explore data growth and computation, the data 1%, the small data movement, data storage and usage, the shift to local and hybrid computing, modern data tools, the challenges of big data, transactional vs analytical databases, SQL language enhancements, simple and ergonomic data solutions and much more.  Links Mentioned in the Show: MotherDuckThe Small Data ManifestoConnect with RyanSmall DataSF conferenceRelated Episode: Effective Data Engineering with Liya Aizenberg, Director of Data Engineering at AwayRewatch sessions from RADAR: AI Edition New to DataCamp? Learn on the go using the DataCamp mobile appEmpower your business with world-class data and AI skills with DataCamp for business

The sheer number of tools and technologies that can infiltrate your work processes can be overwhelming. Choosing the right ones to invest in is critical, but how do you know where to start? What steps should you take to build a solid, scalable data infrastructure that can handle the growth of your business? And with AI becoming a central focus for many organizations, how can you ensure that your data strategy is aligned to support these initiatives? It’s no longer just about managing data; it’s about future-proofing your organization. Taylor Brown is the COO and Co-Founder of Fivetran, the global leader in data movement. With a vision to simplify data connectivity and accessibility, Taylor has been instrumental in transforming the way organizations manage their data infrastructure. Fivetran has grown rapidly, becoming a trusted partner for thousands of companies worldwide. Taylor's expertise in technology and business strategy has positioned Fivetran at the forefront of the data integration industry, driving innovation and empowering businesses to harness the full potential of their data. Prior to Fivetran, Taylor honed his skills in various tech startups, bringing a wealth of experience and a passion for problem-solving to his entrepreneurial ventures. In the episode, Richie and Taylor explore the biggest challenges in data engineering, how to find the right tools for your data stack, defining the modern data stack, federated data, data fabrics, data meshes, data strategy vs organizational structure, self-service data, data democratization, AI’s impact on data and much more.  Links Mentioned in the Show: FivetranConnect with TaylorCareer Track: Data Engineer in PythonRelated Episode: Effective Data Engineering with Liya Aizenberg, Director of Data Engineering at AwayRewatch sessions from RADAR: AI Edition New to DataCamp? Learn on the go using the DataCamp mobile appEmpower your business with world-class data and AI skills with DataCamp for business

Regardless of profession, the work we do leaves behind a trace of actions that help us achieve our goals. This is especially true for those that work with data. For large enterprises where there are seemingly countless processes happening at any one time, keeping track of these processes is crucial. Given the scale of these processes, one small efficiency gain can leads to a staggering amount of time and money saved. Process mining is a data-driven approach to process analysis that uses event logs to extract process-related information. It can separate inferred facts, from exact truths, and uncover what really happens in a variety of operations.  Wil van der Aalst is a full professor at RWTH Aachen University, leading the Process and Data Science (PADS) group. He is also the Chief Scientist at Celonis, part-time affiliated with the Fraunhofer FIT, and a member of the Board of Governors of Tilburg University.  His research interests include process mining, Petri nets, business process management, workflow management, process modeling, and process analysis. Wil van der Aalst has published over 275 journal papers, 35 books (as author or editor), 630 refereed conference/workshop publications, and 85 book chapters. Cong Yu leads the CeloAI group at Celonis focusing on bringing advanced AI technologies to EMS products, building up capabilities for their knowledge platform, and ultimately helping enterprises in reducing process inefficiencies and achieving operational excellence. Previously, Cong was Principal (Research) Scientist / Research Director at Google Research NYC from September 2010 to July 2022, leading the NYSD/Beacon Research Group, and also taught at NYU Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences.  In the episode, Wil, Cong, and Richie explore process mining and its development over the past 25 years, the differences between process mining and ML, AI, and data mining, popular use cases of process mining, adoption from large enterprises like BMW, HP, and Dell, the requirements for an effective process mining system, the role of predictive analytics and data engineering in process mining, how to scale process mining systems, prospects within the field and much more. Links Mentioned in the Show: CelonisGartner’s Magic Quadrant for Process MiningPM4PyProcess Query Language (PQL)[Couse] Business Process Analytics in R

Poor data engineering is like building a shaky foundation for a house—it leads to unreliable information, wasted time and money, and even legal problems, making everything less dependable and more troublesome in our digital world. In the retail industry specifically, data engineering is particularly important for managing and analyzing large volumes of sales, inventory, and customer data, enabling better demand forecasting, inventory optimization, and personalized customer experiences. It helps retailers make informed decisions, streamline operations, and remain competitive in a rapidly evolving market. Insight and frameworks learned from data engineering practices can be applied to a multitude of people and problems, and in turn, learning from someone who has been at the forefront of data engineering is invaluable.   Mohammad Sabah is SVP of Engineering and Data at Thrive Market, and was appointed to this role in 2018. He joined the company from The Honest Company where he served as VP of Engineering & Chief Data Scientist. Sabah joined The Honest Company following its acquisition of Insnap, which he co-founded in 2015. Over the course of his career, Sabah has held various data science and engineering roles at companies including Facebook, Workday, Netflix, and Yahoo! In the episode, Richie and Mo explore the importance of using AI to identify patterns and proactively address common errors, the use of tools like dbt and SODA for data pipeline abstraction and stakeholder involvement in data quality, data governance and data quality as foundations for strong data engineering, validation layers at each step of the data pipeline to ensure data quality, collaboration between data analysts and data engineers for holistic problem-solving and reusability of patterns, ownership mentality in data engineering and much more.  Links from the show: PagerDutyDomoOpsGeneCareer Track: Data Engineer