George Firican

💬 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

Director, Data Governance & Business Intelligence

George Firican 💡

Pst…there’s a raffle coming up for a chance to snag a cool grand prize!

Join me at Data & Analytics After Hours on Monday, March 9th, 5:00–6:30 PM in the Exhibitor Showcase at the Gartner Data & Analytics Summit! 

I’ll be there with the wonderful:

💡Kate Strachnyi 
💡SCOTT TAYLOR  
💡Ravit Jain 
💡Aditi Jain  
💡Andreas Welsch 

Let me know if you can join.

Still need to register? Use code DATA2 to save $450 off registration: https://lnkd.in/gZh6rfQC

#GartnerDA #DataCommunity #DataSummit

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

How do you scale AI without increasing risk at the same time?
Well…

Many organizations are still trying to figure this out.

Moving AI into production isn’t just a technology challenge.
It’s an AI and data governance challenge.
A risk challenge.

And often a coordination challenge between data, data science, and risk teams.

If this question is on your mind, this session at the Gartner Data & Analytics Summit should be an interesting one to attend.

Join Ali Can Toprak (Enterprise Data Governance Manager at ExxonMobil) and Felix Van de Maele (CEO & Co-Founder of Collibra) as they discuss how data management is evolving into a unified AI governance discipline.

What you’ll learn:
✅ How to bridge the gap between data, data science, and risk teams
✅ The secret to building a shared semantic context to scale AI
✅ How ExxonMobil strengthens accountability across the enterprise

⏱️ 1:15-1:45 PM 
📍 Sun 4, Level 2

See you there!

#data #AI #datagovernance #partnerpost

Collibra Gartner 2026 George Firican Felix Van de Maele

There was a large exodus from ChatGPT lately.
So which is your go-to LLM?

Graphic Source: Amit Rawal  

#llm #AI

No alternative text description for this image

Italy is known for many things: culture, incredible food, beautiful landscapes.
But during my visit, I also discovered something else:

Innovation.

At the Italian Pavilion I met Donato De Ieso (Co-Founder and CEO of dillium), who showed me what they are building with spatial computing and the Apple Vision Pro.

One example that stood out: creating interactive 3D models from simple photos.
Imagine being able to:

✅ Take a photo of a product and instantly turn it into a 3D model
✅ Zoom in, rotate it, or even explore inside it
✅ Break it apart piece by piece to understand how it works

This has huge implications for training, maintenance, design, and product visualization. Instead of transporting large equipment or complex machinery, you can interact with it digitally in a shared spatial environment.

It felt a bit like stepping into a "Tony Stark style" interface.

What I find fascinating is how technologies like spatial computing move us from just looking at data and models on a screen to actually interacting with them.

And that opens the door to entirely new ways of learning, collaborating, and making decisions.

Sometimes innovation shows up in the places you least expect it. Even between a cafe latte and a plate of pasta in Italy.

What industries do you think will benefit the most from spatial computing?

#innovation #VR #technology

Would you like one of these modular phones/ gadgets?

Why do you think these aren’t taking off?

Note: video not mine

#technology #tech #gadget

One of the most valuable things you get from the Gartner Data & Analytics Summit is perspective.

Not just from the sessions.
From the people.

At this summit there are hundreds of conversations happening between data leaders, architects, analysts, and governance professionals.

Some will be about AI.
Some about data platforms.
Some about governance and trust.

But many of the most interesting insights is also happening in the hallways, between sessions, and during those spontaneous meetups with people who care about the same challenges you do.

These are the conversations that spark ideas.
The ones that turn into collaborations months later.
The ones that remind you how strong and passionate this data community really is.

Looking forward to reconnecting with friends and meeting new people over the next few days.

If you are here as well, come say hello.

What is one topic you are most excited to discuss or learn about this week?

#Data #AI #GartnerDA

When at Gartner Data & Analytics Summit…

You do many things:

✅ Get data-driven insights
✅ Validate your strategy from their on-site data , analytics, and AI experts
✅ Learn what’s new in the vendor space

And of course NETWORKING!

Hope to see you there. I’ll be on the floor covering the event and conducting some interviews.

Use my discount code: DATA2 to get $450 off your registration.
https://lnkd.in/gZh6rfQC

#data #AI #GartnerDA
Note: Proud to be an official sponsor of the Gartner Data & Analytics Summit

At the Zoho Analytics booth, we had a really interesting discussion about where analytics is heading across industries and…

…what it takes to turn data into decisions that actually shape how organizations operate.

And of course, there was a live demo.
It’s always fascinating to see how it approaches the journey from data → agentic insight → decision.

I also had the chance to sit down with Sailas Sundaram, Head of Product Strategy at Zoho Analytics, for a conversation about the evolving role of analytics and what teams should be thinking about as AI becomes more embedded in how we work with data.

(The full interview will be coming next week so watch out this space.)

I’m curious:
“What do you most want to see when a vendor gives an analytics demo at a conference?”

#data #analytics #AI

How many of you have run into these problems when trying to move AI into production?

⚠️ Governance and access issues
⚠️ Missing business context
⚠️ Data that can’t be trusted

This is where many promising AI initiatives stall.
The model works. The pilot looks great.

But connecting AI to real enterprise production data turns out to be the hard part.

If you’re here at Gartner D & A Summit 2026, this session tackles that exact challenge:
“AI Has a Production Data Problem. Here’s How Teams Are Solving It”

⏱️ Monday, March 9 | 1:40 - 2:00 PM
📍 Theater 1, Exhibit Showcase

The session explores how organizations are moving AI into production with Simba Intelligence, giving AI governed access to enterprise data without copying data, breaking pipelines, or losing control.

If you're curious how teams are solving this, it’s worth attending.

And if you'd like to start or continue the conversation, visit Simba Intelligence from insightsoftware at Booth 329.

#data #artificialintelligence #AI #partnerpost

Did you know the Inca civilization managed one of the largest empires in the Americas without a written language?

Instead, they used quipu. A system of knotted cords that allowed them to record numbers, track resources, and manage logistics across thousands of miles of roads.

All of that… centuries before spreadsheets, databases, or dashboards.

Sipping a cafe latte in an old Inca town made me think about how humans have always tried to bring order to information. Whether through knots in rope or modern data platforms, the goal has not changed much.

Understand what you have.
Organize it well.
Use it to make better decisions.

Different tools. Same mission.

Sometimes data history goes back further than we think.

Let’s keep putting the LightsOnData.
-George Firican 

#data #history

At conferences, I usually ask vendors one question:
“How does this help shape a decision?”

Not a prettier or quicker dashboard. A decision.

This year, I’m curious how analytics platforms are handling the shift toward AI-assisted and agentic experiences.

When a platform talks about AI-assisted or agentic analytics, I’m especially interested in:
✅ How it sits on top of a real data foundation
✅ How the semantic layer holds up
✅ How it helps shape decisions in practice 

That’s the lens I’m bringing to the Gartner floor this year.

Zoho Analytics is at Booth 428 and offering on-site demos, so if you’re evaluating BI or analytics platforms, it’s a chance to explore how they’re approaching this shift.

You can book a demo slot here:
https://lnkd.in/ekEpps8g 
Now I’m genuinely curious:

When you visit analytics booths at Gartner, what do you actually want to see demonstrated?

#data #analytics #partnerpost

Turning retail data into real business results can be a tough problem, but the solution isn’t more tech. It starts with grounding your data strategy in business outcomes and building from there.

In this article, I break down how retail teams can move from disconnected dashboards and siloed analytics to a practical, value-focused data strategy. 

Key lessons include: 
1️⃣ Start with the business problem not the tools + Clarify the goal first (like reducing churn or improving customer experience)
2️⃣ Empower better questions across teams so insights actually lead to action
3️⃣ Put data governance in place early to build trust in your numbers
4️⃣ Balance pace with capacity so you deliver wins without burning out
5️⃣ Build data literacy and ownership so everyone speaks the same language 

I also cover where the retail data push usually starts, how AI fits in practically (not hype), and what future trends are shaping smarter operations. 

If you work in retail or data and want strategies that actually move the needle, I hope this will help you:
https://lnkd.in/gEubetHW

Why does FSA/ MEBS represent a step-change in enterprise modeling?

Checkout this latest article from Robert Vane as he goes over:
✅ Why We Keep Failing at “Enterprise Modeling”
✅ The Insight: Business Behaviour Is Largely Deterministic
✅ A New Foundation for Deterministic Enterprise Modeling
✅ Why This Matters for Today’s Data & EA Community
✅ Why This Work Is Gaining Momentum

and much more:
https://lnkd.in/gyqdgvBW

#datamodel #dataarchitecture #data

I'm Ravit Jain — the Founder & Host of The Ravit Show, a platform dedicated to meaningful conversations with the people shaping the future of Data and AI.

What started as a passion for learning from industry leaders has grown into a global media platform that reaches millions. Today, I spend my time interviewing experts, covering major tech events, and working closely with companies to help them share their stories in a way that truly connects with the community.

Over the past few years, I’ve had the chance to:

Host 550+ interviews with data and AI leaders, founders, engineers, and product thinkers

Collaborate with 200+ companies — from fast-moving startups to nearly every major tech giant

Cover 100+ conferences across the world, sharing real-time insights and backstage conversations

Support 200+ partner campaigns to amplify their product launches, webinars, reports, and community efforts

My focus is always on creating content that is useful, grounded, and easy to understand — no hype, just real value. Whether it's discussing GenAI, data quality, modern architecture, or what it takes to scale AI responsibly, my goal is to keep the conversation practical and community-first.

If you’re building in this space or want to share what you’re working on, I’d love to connect and learn more.

You can reach out to me at Ravitjain0909@gmail.com for The Ravit Show queries :)

Ravit Jain

Most AI analytics platforms assume one thing. Your data lives in one place. Kapil Chhabra, Co-Founder and CPO at WisdomAI on The Ravit Show challenged that assumption immediately. Enterprises are distributed. Their data is fragmented across clouds, warehouses, operational systems, and business units. Forcing everything into a single layer before AI can work is slow and expensive.

That is why WisdomAI introduced Federated Agentic Intelligence.

Instead of centralizing first and analyzing later, the system works across distributed sources. It assembles context at runtime. We spent time on what they call the Enterprise Context Layer. Without context, AI gives generic answers. With context, AI understands how metrics connect, what definitions mean, and how governance rules apply.

Kapil was clear that federation is not a feature. It is a design principle for the modern enterprise.

We also talked about what is next on their roadmap and what capabilities they are most excited about over the coming year. The focus is less on flashy features and more on depth, reliability, and scale.

If your organization is struggling to move from AI experiments to AI that executives actually trust, this conversation goes deep into architecture decisions that matter.

#data #ai #gartnerda #wisdomai #theravitshow

We have been building dashboards for 20 years. Now everyone is adding AI on top of them. But what if the real issue is the stack itself? That is where my conversation with Soham Mazumdar, Co-Founder and CEO, WisdomAI went at Gartner D&A on The Ravit Show!!!!

WisdomAI calls what they are building “Agentic Analytics.” Not a chatbot on top of BI. Not a copilot that still depends on humans to interpret everything. We talked about what is fundamentally broken in today’s analytics world:

- Dashboards answer questions you already thought of
- Executives need answers to questions they did not know to ask

Soham shared how enterprises are moving from static reporting to agents that reason across metrics, detect issues, and explain why something happened. The trust problem came up quickly. Most AI analytics tools look impressive in a demo. Very few hold up under real enterprise scrutiny.

We also discussed a real customer story with Cisco and what changed after deploying WisdomAI. The shift was not just faster answers. It was decision confidence.

Looking ahead, Soham believes analytics teams will not disappear. They will evolve into designers and supervisors of intelligent systems that operate continuously across the business.

For enterprise leaders rethinking the future of BI, this was a forward-looking and very practical discussion.

#data #ai #gartnerda #wisdomai #theravitshow

Your AI has a context problem. It’s not the model. It’s context!!!! That was the mic drop from Prukalpa ⚡, Co-Founder & Co-CEO, Atlan on The Ravit Show when we kicked off this conversation. And honestly, it set the tone for everything that followed.

We spoke about why so many AI projects stall. Not because the model is weak. Not because the team is not smart. But because the data lacks shared meaning. No common definitions. No clear ownership. No business context.

Here is what we unpacked:

• What a “context layer” actually means in simple terms
• Why this idea is suddenly everywhere at Gartner this year
• Where the context layer fits in the modern data stack
• What Atlan is building to make context usable, not theoretical
• The one demo every data leader should see before leaving Orlando

One big takeaway:
If your AI does not understand your business context, it will confidently give you the wrong answer.

If you are at Gartner this week, stop by Booth 313. See how context is being turned into something real, usable, and operational.

#data #ai #gartnerda #atlan #theravitshow

BREAKING announcements from the front row at New Relic Advance 2K26. Today’s announcements from Ashan Willy (CEO, New Relic) and Brian Emerson (CPO, New Relic) made one thing clear: This is not just a product update. It is a shift toward intelligent, agent-driven operations. Here are the biggest announcements from the stage 👇

1. The Agentic Platform for operational AI
New Relic introduced a platform designed to let teams build and orchestrate AI agents that can investigate incidents, automate workflows, and reduce manual toil across production environments. The idea is to move from passive monitoring to systems that actively execute tasks

2. SRE Agent to automate investigation and response
A new AI-driven SRE agent uses telemetry signals across logs, metrics, traces, and dependencies to prioritize alerts, identify root causes, and guide remediation workflows

3. Intelligent Root Cause Analysis and smarter alerting
The platform now focuses on reducing noise and narrowing down the most probable failure paths quickly so teams can respond with clarity instead of chasing alerts

4. Intelligent Workloads linking performance to business impact
New capabilities aim to connect technical telemetry directly to user experience and revenue impact so organizations can understand not just system health, but business risk

5. Stronger OpenTelemetry and telemetry pipeline simplification
New Relic is also investing heavily in making telemetry ingestion and pipeline health more transparent, helping customers scale observability without increasing operational overhead

But what stood out beyond the announcements was hearing customers talk about this shift.

I joined the session “Customer Panel: Intelligent Observability in Action” with leaders from Nordstrom, Turo, and New York Life alongside New Relic’s team.

The conversation was less about dashboards and more about outcomes.

Customers talked about:

• Managing the growing complexity of AI-driven systems
• Moving faster without increasing operational risk
• And using observability as a way to connect engineering work to business impact

It was clear that for them, observability is becoming a strategic capability, not just a monitoring tool.

Why this matters

Engineering teams today lose a huge amount of time to firefighting, alert noise, and manual investigation. The promise of these announcements is simple:

- Reduce operational toil
- Speed up decisions
- And let teams focus on innovation instead of maintenance

If New Relic can execute on this vision, observability platforms will stop being dashboards and start becoming operational decision systems

From what I am hearing in sessions and hallway conversations, this shift toward agent-assisted operations is arriving faster than most organizations expected.

More updates coming live from the floor.

#Data #AI #NewRelic #Observability #AI #SRE #DevOps #PlatformEngineering #TheRavitShow

At New Relic Advance 2026 in San Francisco, one theme was impossible to miss. Observability is no longer just about seeing problems. It’s about fixing them. I caught up with Ashan Willy, CEO of New Relic, to talk about what this shift really means for customers.

The biggest highlight was the launch of their SRE Agent and the broader move toward an agentic platform. What stood out in our conversation was not just the technology, but the reason behind it.

Customers are overwhelmed by signals, alerts, and dashboards. They don’t need more data. They need faster action.

That is exactly what New Relic is aiming to solve. Closing the gap between insight and execution so engineers spend less time diagnosing and more time delivering.

Compared to last year, this feels like a real strategic inflection point. The conversation is no longer about adding AI features. It is about redesigning workflows around AI-native operations.

The big question now is not whether agents will assist engineers. It is how much responsibility they will take on as trust grows. If this launch works, by next year we should see fewer alerts, faster resolutions, and teams spending more time building instead of firefighting.

#Data #AI #NewRelic #Observability #AI #SRE #AgenticAI #TheRavitShow

AI will fail without strong data foundations. At the DataDriven Conference 2026 by Reltio, I sat down with Bronwen Schumacher from ZS to talk about what it really takes to make enterprise data ready for AI.

Bronwen leads the Reltio partnership at ZS, a global consulting firm deeply rooted in life sciences and healthcare. ZS has been one of Reltio’s earliest partners, working together for 13 years to build modern Master Data Management solutions for global pharma companies.

This year, they won Innovation Partner of the Year for their work integrating ZS’s platform, ZAIDYN, with Reltio. The goal is clear. Deliver an out-of-the-box data and analytics solution that helps organizations, including smaller pharmaceutical companies, master their data faster.

We also spoke about what 2026 really demands from enterprises. The focus is shifting toward Agentic MDM, where strong data quality, governance, and change enablement become the backbone for AI. Without organizational buy-in and clean, trusted data, large-scale AI programs simply do not scale.

Beyond pharma, ZS is also expanding into travel and hospitality, bringing similar data discipline to customer loyalty and experience use cases.

This was a grounded conversation about how real enterprises are preparing their data before chasing AI.

Sharing the full interview here.

#data #ai #datadriven #reltio #theravitshow

Some events are about trends. Others signal where the industry is actually going next. I am in San Francisco today, getting ready for New Relic’s Advance tomorrow, and this one feels like the latter.

Over the past year, almost every conversation with engineering and platform teams has circled back to the same theme. AI is helping teams move faster, but it is also making systems harder to manage. More signals, more dependencies, more pressure to react quickly.

Register here, you can join virtually too:
https://lnkd.in/dsCfKaFC

That is why this event matters. We are expecting one of the biggest waves of product releases New Relic has announced so far, all focused on helping teams move from simply seeing issues to actually resolving them faster and with more confidence.

I will be there with Aditi Jain, meeting teams, attending sessions, and sharing what actually matters once the announcements land.

If you have been thinking about joining, this is your last chance to register. And if you cannot make it in person, the virtual option makes it easy to follow everything as it happens.

Register here, you can join virtually too:
https://lnkd.in/dsCfKaFC

Should be an interesting one. Stay tuned.

I am in Orlando for the Gartner Data & Analytics Summit 2026. And one company I am excited to cover is WisdomAI. I will be meeting their team on the show floor, interviewing their leadership, and going deep into how they are helping enterprises move beyond dashboards into agentic analytics. Find more details here – https://lnkd.in/eEAfAqjr

From what I am hearing, their booth is going to be one to watch. Live demos. Strategic 1:1 conversations. Giveaways. Raffles. Swag. And most importantly, real conversations about how enterprises can scale AI with context and clarity.

They are also hosting a fireside session featuring CEO Soham Mazumdar alongside Raj Kamra an enterprise AI leader from Cisco, focused on what it truly takes to operationalize AI across large organizations.

The energy around AI at this year’s summit feels different. It is less about experimentation and more about execution.

If you are heading to Gartner next week, make sure WisdomAI is on your list.

I will be sharing interview highlights and behind-the-scenes insights directly from the show floor.

Orlando, see you soon.

#data #ai #gartnerda #wisdomai #theravitshow

Bangalore always brings great energy when it comes to data, cloud, and AI conversations. Excited to be heading there the second edition of the Commvault Cloud Summit 2026 on March 5th. More details here
https://lnkd.in/daHXC4KT

I will be hosting a special panel with Tim Zonca, VP Product and Portfolio Marketing, and Woon Ho Jung, CTO Cloud Native at Commvault, where we will focus on something many teams are actively dealing with today protecting AI workloads, data pipelines, and building true cloud native resilience.

As AI adoption grows, Cloud, Platform, DevOps, and SRE teams are under pressure to ensure systems are not just fast but reliable, recoverable, and secure. This session will unpack what AI ready infrastructure actually requires and how teams can design resilience into their platforms from day one.

If you are working on modern cloud platforms or data systems, this summit will be worth your time.

More details here
https://lnkd.in/daHXC4KT

#data #ai #cloud #shift2026 #aiprotection #devops #sre #theravitshow

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