Dave on Data

The Dave on Data mission is to empower any professional (or team) with the DIY data science skills needed to unleash the power of AI technologies like Copilot in Excel.

What gets left out of the AI Hype Cycle is this:

AI will make you (or your team) wildly more productive.

**BUT**

You must have the requisite skills to make the most of AI.

**AND**

If these skills are lacking, you will not be able to recognize (and correct) the AI when it makes mistakes.

BTW - AI makes mistakes all the time.

Take Microsoft's Copilot in Excel AI as an example.

The "magical" scenarios where Copilot analyzes data using a few clicks and a couple of short prompts rely heavily on two things:

Python
Machine learning

Here's the thing, however. 

I've tested Copilot in Excel, which rarely generates the correct Python/machine learning code.

As the DIY data scientist, this is where you unleash Copilot's power.

I can teach you these DIY data science skills.

Regardless of role. Regardless of background.

Founder

TDWI

I develop and deliver live training experiences on data science topics such as data analysis and predictive analytics (e.g., machine learning). I focus on accelerating the data science journey for teams and organizations using a practical hands-on approach.

Training can be delivered virtually or in person with your team. The following offerings are certified by TDWI and can be taught using R or Python:

👉 Machine Learning Bootcamp
👉 Visual Data Analysis
👉 Linear/Logistic Regresion

💻 Learn more: https://daveondata.com/live-analytics-training

Data Science Consultant & Instructor

Schedulicity

VP of Analytics

Data Science Dojo

VP of Data Science

Microsoft

Sr. Director, BI and Analytics

Principal Program Manager

Sr. Director, Platform Architecture

Principal Architect

Ascentium Corp

Associate Partner, Solution Architect

Safeco Insurance

IT Architect

e-software, Inc.

Software Design Engineer

Programmer Analyst

I help ANY professional or team have more impact using data. Analytics demystified.

Want to differentiate yourself at work with Excel skills? Leaders aren't excited about this in 2025:

- Using PivotTables
- Knowing many Excel functions

You know what they're excited about: AI

And that means Copilot in Excel.

Here are the 4 steps to build the skills you need to master Copilot in Excel and impress your manager, business stakeholders, and executives:

1) Ignore "prompt engineering."
2) Learn Python.
3) Learn DIY data science.
4) Recognize hallucinations.

I want to help you own the future of Microsoft Excel.

I will help you get started today - for free.

Join 1,000s of professionals building skills for the future: 
https://daveondata.com/newsletter

David Langer

As an author, there's nothing quite like waking up to some good news from Amazon!

Back in May of 2023, I saw an early version of Python in Excel for the first time. I immediately knew I wanted to be a part of the most significant upgrade in Excel's analytics capabilities ever. 

And it didn't stop there.

When I first got access to Copilot in Excel's "advanced analysis" mode, I quickly saw Microsoft's vision for Excel's future. For professionals building Python analytics skills, the future of Excel lies in deep integration with Copilot AI to unleash the power of their data.

My book is the first step in building the skills for Excel's AI-powered future. It uses your existing knowledge of Excel to help you learn the Python foundation you need - fast.

If you're ready to make 2026 the year you embrace the power of Excel, AI, and data, you can pre-order my book here: https://lnkd.in/eQp4g5_d

#Excel #PythonInExcel #MicrosoftExcel

I help professionals and teams build better forecasts using machine learning with Python and Python in Excel.

Interesting behavior from Copilot in Excel. Just another example of how Python in Excel skills are part of Excel's AI-powered future.

I was working on the next issue of my LinkedIn newsletter, which will cover using AI to build better forecasts in Microsoft Excel, and asked Copilot to create a forecast for me.

I was surprised to see that Copilot didn't use Excel's FORECAST.ETS() function because that's the best way to build data-driven forecasts using native Excel features.

Instead, Copilot in Excel generated Python code in the background to build an ETS model similar to what would be produced from FORECAST.ETS() using Python's mighty statsmodels library.

BTW - I covered statsmodels in my last two LinkedIn newsletter articles.

I'm betting that the new Copilot in Excel Agent Mode will be able to manipulate worksheets (e.g., generating formulas) directly and will be able to generate forecasts using FORECAST.ETS().

However, I'm also betting the Agent Mode will eventually be smart enough to recognize when a better forecasting technique is available from Python and use that instead.

Which means that the AI-powered future of Microsoft Excel will belong to those professionals who develop Python skills.

Stay healthy and happy data sleuthing!

#Excel #PythonInExcel #MicrosoftExcel

George Firican

The University of British Columbia

Director, Data Governance & Business Intelligence

Led a team of wonderful and highly skilled people in the areas of:
- Finance
- Human Resources
- Information Systems
- Gift Processing 
- Operations
- Strategic Projects
- Prospect Research & Analytics 
- Data Governance & Business Intelligence 

To support the goals of the fundraising and alumni engagement portfolio across the university.

Chief Advancement Operations Officer (Interim)

Director of Information Technology (Interim)

• Lead the Data Governance/ Quality program and the strategy development of Development and Alumni Engagement’s (DAE) data acquisition, maintenance and dissemination while fostering innovation and long term strategic vision
• Lead the efforts to develop a business glossary as well as a business intelligence (BI) framework and program that provides user-friendly access to the right information for the right people at the right time
• Directed the development and enhancement of standards, procedures, processes, policies related to the improvement and/or maintenance of quality of data within the Blackbaud Enterprise CRM database
• Created and fostered strategic partnerships and influential relationships with DAE senior management, the broader UBC community, campus stakeholders, vendors, and external universities to secure the success of DAE’s data governance, business intelligence and information quality efforts
• Collaborated with Information Technology to manage the development of automated data validations, data cleanses, data quality issue reports, and deployment of new tools and enhancements to aid in the preservation of data quality
• Advanced the data governance and business intelligence profession by participating in professional organizations, acquiring or maintaining required accreditations, publishing articles, and giving presentations at professional events

Associate Director, Data Governance & Business Intelligence

I proudly took part of UBC's "Start an Evolution" campaign (https://startanevolution.ubc.ca/), campaign which raised $1.5 billion dollars for students, research and community engagement and to double the number of alumni involved annually in the life of the university by 2015.

• Established and led an award winning Data Governance/Quality Program to support the university’s $1.5 billion fundraising campaign and sustainable alumni engagement strategy
• Provided oversight of the Data Governance/Quality Program and kept it on track by managing the development of standards, procedures, processes, policies related to the acquisition, management, and dissemination of enterprise data impacting the Blackbaud Enterprise CRM database while leading the Advisory Council
• Developed an award winning Tracing Program through which the returned mail percentage of Development and Alumni Engagement’s Portfolio has been reduced to less than 1%
• Managed the development of business performance metrics and scorecards to monitor and communicate the status and improvement of service of the Records department
• Achieved a 92% address and phone number accuracy for Canadian records, an improvement from ~64%
• Communicated to and educated internal and external stakeholders on the results and initiatives of data governance, quality, master data management, information delivery and advised stakeholders about best practices; was the first and only department to achieve 100% on the annual client satisfaction survey on communication delivery and content

Data Quality Manager

LightsOnData

- Educational Content Creation: Develop and deliver comprehensive courses, workshops, and webinars on data governance, data management, data quality, AI, and more.
- Brand Amplification: Collaborate with data companies to enhance their brand visibility and thought leadership in the data community.
- Engagement and Outreach: Host the Lights On Data Show podcast, featuring industry leaders and experts to share their insights and experiences.

Pearson

Course Instructor

O'Reilly

iData Quality Academy

Developed course content for iData Quality Academy
- Data Profiling
- Data Quality Costs

Instructor

Self employed

• Provided project management and business analysis expertise to various projects across the different industries (BaniPePost.com, JT Business Group, SMAWS, 8p8, Ashenzi, NetPress Consulting, LTS, AHACommunity, etc).
• Designed and developed unique, highly professional web and print designs, branding and e-learning solutions as well as developing and configuring custom websites (e-stores, online communities, content management systems, blogs, brochure websites, etc.).
• Accumulated experience as a web master by installing, upgrading, performing backups, managing migrations and maintaining a series of complex websites.

Freelance Consultant

Sauder School of Business, UBC

• Served as internal Project Manager for the evaluation, build and deployment phases of a custom-built, scalable web payment gateway (WPG) that complied with the PCI standard requirements and reduced Sauder Finance’s operational time for the allocation and reporting of revenue received via card payments by 75%
• Managed the deployment of a FIPPA compliant e-newsletter tool (Industry Mailout) selected to achieve a standard for design and operational support while reducing expenses by $15k/year
• Planned and managed the development and release of a new service for personal/academic blogging through the use of the WordPress MU environment for faculty members and current Sauder students
• Managed the development of an improved content publishing process to account for 15 digital signs, each with audience specific content & emergency broadcasting capabilities
• Served as the internal project manager for the development and deployment of the Canaccord Learning Commons web presence comprised of a WordPress based website and a BuddyPress student interaction environment
• Developed solutions for integrating the business environment with web 2.0 technologies such as WordPress 3 based sites, online communities (Ning, Moodle), and collaboration tools (MediaWiki, Project Spaces, CoMapping) while providing expertise and system support for these platforms
• Identified customer requirements, analyzed and reviewed product features, integration, security, scalability and performance requirements for projects such as PPM Tool, a collaboration tool to be used between the Center of Health Care Management and BC health care authorities, Desktop Blogging Client Solution, ECM Society Online Presence, Faculty Master Calendar, Form Building Tool, Event Registration, PCI Payment Forms Conversions, and several online presences for different business areas and conferences

Project Manager / BA

Everest iTech

• Promoted to Project Manager for the Showtime Models website and web application and the All Ears accounting software development project due to excellent interpersonal, communication and leadership skills in the relationships with the client and internal development team
• Led the development of several e-commerce sites (ex: SkyHook Solar, Expressive Designs Florist, JT-Autotech) and dynamic websites (ex: Mailinglist System, Informant Zone) and also helped architect their databases
• Increased the employees' knowledgebase by developing e-learning modules and user manuals for the use of the company’s payroll and accounting software
• Enhanced the online awareness of the company’s brand by 40% by creating a new content strategy and redeveloping its website in a WordPress, SEO friendly environment
• Minimized the cost of online advertising by developing free distributed widgets that increased incoming traffic by 5k visitors/ month

Project Manager / Lead Web Developer

Event Technologies

• Developed customer support standards and procedures for the company’s e-store business and helped transition a staff of 12 to this new environment through training sessions and a knowledgebase wiki.
• Minimized the installation time of new systems by 80% by creating and managing standard desktop images based on the employees’ job roles.
• Reduced search time of hardware and software information by 50% by developing a standard for filing all the technical documentation on hardware equipment and software.

IT Consultant

WGOA

• Demonstrated strong leadership skills by acting as the team leader of a software developer group in order to successfully implement and deliver an interactive Go learning application two weeks ahead of deadline and within budget.
• Coded the backend interaction of a merchandise inventory application with a barcode scanner and also contributed to developing the MySQL database and reporting. 
• Facilitated the team members to work remotely by implementing a VPN solution and integrated the use of Subversion to enable software versioning and revision control.

Software developer

💬 Founder of LightsOnData.com and LightsOnData YouTube Channel
Focused on providing informative content such as ONLINE COURSES, templates, guides, best practices, articles, white papers, and other useful resources to help you with your data governance and data management questions and challenges

💬 Creator of online courses that are engaging, new, and thorough. 
Courses: Building an Award-Winning Business Glossary, Data Governance Maturity Models, Data Governance Fundamentals, etc. - check them out here: https://www.lightsondata.com/courses/

💬 Providing LinkedIn content strategy for data-focused companies and products, as well as those with a focus on artificial intelligence (AI), business intelligence (BI, data science, data management, and data governance areas.
Connect with me today and ask how I can help you reach the data audience.

💬 Host of Lights on Data Show - a podcast and LinkedIn Live weekly show that provides insights into the data world and showcases people that help to shape it.

💬 Get some fun data merchandise here: https://shop.spreadshirt.com/lightsondata/all

💬 International key note speaker, conference speaker, and panelist (spoken at over 60 different conferences).

💬 I love being on camera, hiking, surfing, filming, and video editing
YouTube: @LightsOnData


🏛 My experience and specialties: 
• Expertise in data governance, information quality, business intelligence & data management
• Extensive background in web and application development with experience of the full life-cycle of a project
• Strong leadership capabilities, organizational and communication skills

Specialties: 
• Enterprise information management: Information quality, data governance and stewardship, master data management, business intelligence, business process improvement
• Development: Web and application development, relational database design and development
• Planning: Budget and resource planning, agile and waterfall project management, team development and leadership
• Tools and Applications: Collibra, Tableau, MS Visio, MS Project, Premiere, Photoshop

George Firican 💡

I’m at Collibra’s Data Citizens event and really enjoying the conversations and energy. The message is clear: 

Organizations need to move from BI-ready to AI-ready data, and governance has to evolve with it.

Here’s why:
✅ AI is increasing ecosystem complexity
✅ Structured and unstructured data both need visibility and trust
✅ Governance must scale everywhere across platforms, engines and workloads

So here are some available features to help with above that got me excited:

1️⃣ Data contracts for improving consistency and transparency across data products
2️⃣ Custom rules with Text2SQL to turn natural language into precise SQL data quality checks
3️⃣ Derived relations to visualize multi-hop connections and lineage
4️⃣ Semantic Model Generation Agent to automatically generate semantic layers from physical data
5️⃣ Model Context Protocol server to give copilots and AI agents real-time governed context
6️⃣ Data recommender to guide teams toward trusted, approved data
7️⃣ AI model registry for governed model lifecycle tracking
8️⃣ Automated AI traceability across Azure AI Foundry
9️⃣ Microsoft Teams & Slack integrations for better data collaboration 

A lot of impressive innovation on display today. Interviews with Collibra leaders and partners coming soon.

Until next time, let’s keep putting the Lights On Data!
-George Firican  

#data #AI #datagovernance

💡 Award Winning Data Governance Leader | Content Creator & Influencer | Founder of LightsOnData | Podcast Host: Lights On Data Show | LinkedIn Top Voice

Great energy, amazing sessions, wonderful networking here at the Big Data & Analytics West Summit.

It was a pleasure catching up with the local data community, seeing old friends, and meeting new ones.

Let’s keep putting the Lights On Data!
-George Firican  

#data #ai

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There was a clear theme emerging at the Big Data and Analytics West Summit, and it showed up in the breakfast discussions, the keynote, presentations and every conversation. 👇

Reliable AI still comes down to one thing: the strength of your enterprise data foundation.

At the IBM breakfast, several roundtable discussions pointed to the same realization. As teams accelerate toward AI, the real bottleneck isn’t tooling. It is the clarity, quality, and accessibility of the data behind it.

Paul Zikopoulos, VP Technology Sales at IBM, reinforced this in his keynote. He talked about the curiosity tax that comes from gated or fragmented data, and how governance, lineage, sovereignty, and explainability aren’t administrative tasks. They are accelerators for AI.
When organizations know where data came from, how it can be used, and who owns it, the entire AI lifecycle becomes more reliable.

One point he shared stood out to me: GenAI is fundamentally an unstructured data problem. Most organizations haven’t even started unlocking the value in documents, PDFs, forms, logs, images, and everything that never makes it into a warehouse.

During my conversation with Paul, he also highlighted how leaders can start simply. Focus on automation and internal optimization use cases. Decide whether each AI initiative is meant to save money or generate money. Build from there.

Across the day, the message was consistent throughout peer discussions, panels, and other presentations. Data foundations are the reason AI works and we need to invest in getting those right. Governance, security, quality, stewardship and so much more... they all need to be in place.

How's your data foundation?

#ibmpartner #IBMCanada #data #AI

Key takeaways from Big Data Analytics West Summit

Did you know that AWS announced 60 AI Competency Partners across 3 NEW categories that will define the next era of intelligent systems:

✅ Agentic AI Applications
✅ Agentic AI Tools
✅ Agentic AI Consulting Services

These organizations represent innovation, scale and real world impact.
They are building autonomous systems, enabling smarter workflows, and helping enterprises activate their AI strategy with confidence and speed.

Do you have a favourite category or partner you are most excited about?

I will add the full list of partners in the comments so you can explore their work, follow their updates and connect with leaders who are shaping the future. 

You can also read more about all this here: https://lnkd.in/g-g7T22Z

Until next time, let’s keep putting the Lights On Data and Agentic AI.
-George Firican

#AI #agenticAI #partnerpost

Here is my recommendation for this week.
If Agentic AI is on your roadmap, checkout this ebook  👇

It breaks down what many overlook: AI success depends on the maturity of your data architecture.
Here's what else you can find in it:
• Clear explanation of what a modern, AI-ready architecture looks like
• Practical guidance on data quality, cataloging, lineage and governance
• A real example of how a bank scaled agentic AI by modernizing its foundation

So if you are leading data initiatives or planning for AI adoption, this is a good resource to read.

Until next time, let's keep putting the Lights on Data!
-George 
#data #AI #partnerpost

Modernize Data Architectures for  Agentic AI Success

What are your thoughts on AI generated videos or art?
Here’s a good example, in my opinion, on what happens when human creativity and AI-powered implementation come together.

Credit: Le Voyage (Paint World 28)


#ai #artificialintelligence

Data quality starts at the source… kind of  like good coffee.

I visited a shop that roasted its own beans, and the difference was undeniable. Fresh, intentional, crafted with care.

When we source data with the same level of attention, everything that comes after becomes smoother. Analytics flow better, insights become richer, decisions become clearer.

What do you think?
Happy weekend everyone! Let’s keep putting the Lights On Data!
-George Firican 

#data #dataquality

What do you think? Is AI making Master Data Management and Data Governance obsolete... or more essential than ever?

I’m looking forward to sitting down with Bruno Billy, President of APGAR North America, and Ken Brown, Head of Customer Success, to explore how AI is reshaping MDM and Data Governance, plus...

...how these disciplines influence the success of AI itself.

From practical examples of AI-augmented governance to rethinking stewardship roles and making MDM truly AI-ready, we will unpack how leading organizations are using AI to strengthen their data foundations, not replace them.

WHEN: Dec 11 at 8 AM PT | 11 AM ET | 4 PM GMT
WHERE: Here on LinkedIn and LightsOnData YouTube channel

More details in the comments.

#datagovernance #AI #MDM

how is AI reinventing MDM and data governance

Tomorrow I’ll be at the Big Data & Analytics West Summit, and there’s something I’m genuinely looking forward to:

I love conversations that bring clarity to where data and AI are headed next, and IBM is putting a spotlight on a topic I care deeply about:
 👉 How organizations can build reliable AI by strengthening their enterprise data foundation.

A major highlight for me will be hearing Paul Zikopoulos share practical lessons and thoughtful perspectives on:
✅ Preparing enterprise data for agentic AI applications
✅ Combining retrieval approaches to improve AI reliability
✅ Real-world strategies for scaling trusted AI across teams 

Paul consistently brings insights that elevate how we think about data and AI, and I’m excited to learn from his session.

These are the kinds of insights I’m excited to learn from, explore, and share.
And of course the discussions, networking, and the exhibitor lounge where there’s always something new to discover.

You can explore the agenda here: https://lnkd.in/gkDXmrnq

If you’re attending #BDW2025, please let me know as I’d be happy to connect.
You’ll find me capturing moments throughout the day, and yes, I’ll also be hanging out at IBM’s booth as their #ibmpartner for the event.

#data #IBMCanada

IBM Big Data Analytics West George Firican

Oh wow, what a day!
Excited to have been part of the Big Data Analytics West Summit in Vancouver as an #ibmpartner for the event.

Grateful for the energizing discussions and sessions, especially the great session on preparing enterprise data for AI from Paul Zikopoulos (VP, IBM Technology Sales).

It was great catching up with fellow data professionals and having a day of learning.
Thank you again IBM! 

#AI #IBMCanada #data

What are the biggest misconceptions business leaders still have about AI?

I sat down with Stijn (Stan) Christiaens, Co-founder of Collibra, at Data Citizens to unpack what AI readiness really means for organizations. 

Here are 5 takeaways from our chat:

1. Many leaders still see AI as “a chat in the cloud.”
2. Organizations need the right foundations around AI
3. AI ready data requires more than quality
4. Unstructured data is no longer optional
5. Unified governance is becoming essential

If you want a clear picture of what it truly takes to prepare your organization for AI, this interview delivers.
Full conversation in the video below.

Until next time, let’s keep putting the Lights On Data.
-George Firican

#data #datagovernance #AI

Why are we still managing data on week-long cycles while our AI expects answers every second? 
As a data management professional, that mismatch is the bottleneck I see most often. That is why I’m paying attention to Acceldata’s Agentic Data Management.

Here’s what stood out to me after watching some of their demos:
✅ Natural language use to diagnose data quality issue AND trigger the proper fixes
✅ Autonomous agents that observe, reason, and act across your data pipelines, lineage & policies
✅ Dynamic and context aware governance that interprets regulations and applies controls to the right data
✅ A reasoning layer (xLake Architecture) that turns metadata into business meaning
✅ Learns from incidents so issues don’t repeat

If you are exploring how to make data AI ready, this is worth a look. Start here and tell me what you think of the agent driven workflow:
https://lnkd.in/gVwUQQwy

Question for you: where do you lose more time today:
1. Detection or 
2. Resolution?

Let’s keep putting the Lights On Data!

#datamanagement #AI #partner

Every December I look ahead… and this year, one prediction feels very safe:

I'll be attending Subsurface Live on December 10, coffee in hand, curious about how Agentic AI and open lakehouse patterns will shape 2026.

The agenda lines up well with questions many of us are exploring right now:
➡️ How will agent-based execution reshape data workflows?
➡️ What signals are emerging around performance, formats and multi-cloud patterns?
➡️ Where is the Apache Iceberg ecosystem pushing innovation next?

For anyone designing data systems or planning next-year priorities, this feels like a valuable moment to absorb ideas and future direction.

Registration is free: https://lnkd.in/gmDPiaES
Where: Virtual
Date: Dec 10, 2025 
Time: 8AM - 2PM PT / 4PM - 10PM GMT / 5PM - 11PM CET

See you there!

#data #AI

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