Data professionals should aspire to be leaders across multiple industries and establish themselves as powerful influencers.
Organizations can benefit from transitioning to a decentralized data model, allowing different teams to innovate and build applications closer to business problems.
Deep dives
Creating Cultures of Innovation
Dr. Alexander Borik discusses the importance of creating cultures of innovation in organizations. He highlights the need for data professionals to be leaders in their industries and emphasizes the value of professionals who can establish themselves as influencers across multiple verticals.
Centralized vs. Decentralized Data Products
Dr. Borik explores the benefits and drawbacks of centralized and decentralized data products. He shares his experience of transitioning from a central data team to a decentralized model, where different teams take ownership of data products and are able to innovate and build applications that are closer to the business problems they are solving.
The Imminent Impact of Generative AI
Dr. Borik discusses the potential of generative AI and its impact on industries, particularly in marketing and content creation. He highlights the co-creation aspect of using generative AI models like chat GPT and emphasizes the importance of humans working alongside machines in a co-creative process.
The Journey to Data Excellence
Dr. Borik shares his insights on how organizations can strive for data excellence. He emphasizes the need for data to be freely accessible within an organization, the importance of data-driven executives, and the value of having strong data governance that is not overly invasive. He also discusses the potential of generative technologies and the need for organizations to adapt and embrace new ways of working with data.
Most data professionals aspire to be leaders within a single industry. It’s rare to see professionals establish and re-establish themselves as powerful influencers across multiple verticals. But this is precisely what Dr. Alexander Borek has done, helping some of the world’s most recognizable brands scale tangible value from data, analytics, and AI. In this episode, he covers a wide range of topics, including his personal career journey, creating cultures of innovation, centralized vs. decentralized data products, and the imminent impact of generative AI.
Key Moments:
Background on Zalando [2:15]
Dr. Borek’s The Ultimate Data and AI Guide [5:32]
Becoming a data leader in multiple industries [7:02]
Germany’s growing data culture [14:30]
The need for a greater sense of urgency in data understanding [17:07]
The origins of the data mesh [19:33]
The benefits of cross-team collaboration [24:44]
Data mash vs. data fabric [31:30]
Using data for insight and action [37:28]
The rapid expansion of generative technologies [40:10]
