Drill to Detail

Drill to Detail Ep.100 Special ‘Past, Present and Future of the Modern Data Stack’ with Special Guests Keenan Rice, Stewart Bryson and Jake Stein

Mar 7, 2023

In this special 100th episode, Mark Rittman is joined by Keenan Rice, Stewart Bryson, and Jake Stein. They discuss the evolution of enterprise analytics tools, the history and growth of the modern data stack, Snowflake's rise in the database market, Looker's acquisition by Google, building Firebolt, and the role of semantic and metrics layers in the data industry.

01:15:40

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Episode guests

Stewart Bryson

Keenan Rice

Jake Stein

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Episode notes

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Looker's semantic layer played a crucial role in the success of the modern data stack by enabling self-service analytics and data modeling.

The acquisition of Looker by Google Cloud reshaped the landscape of the modern data stack, emphasizing the growing relationship between BI tools and cloud platforms.

The rise of DBT and analytics engineering has revolutionized data transformation, collaboration, and efficiency in modern data organizations.

Deep dives

The Rise of Looker and the Modern Data Stack

The podcast episode discusses the history and success of Looker, a data analytics platform. Keenan Rice, one of the early employees at Looker, talks about the company's journey and the impact of Looker's semantic layer on the modern data stack. He also highlights the importance of culture and customer-centric approach in Looker's success. Additionally, the podcast covers the emergence of DBT and analytics engineering as significant developments in the data analytics space. Jake Stein, co-founder of RJ Metrics and Stitch, reflects on the growth of DBT and the evolving market dynamics. The episode concludes with a discussion about the challenges and opportunities in the modern data stack landscape.

Introduction

2min

Introduction and Background in Data Analytics Industry

2min

Introduction and Theme of the Episode

1min

The Evolution of Enterprise Analytics Tools

12min

The History of the Modern Data Stack

21min

The Success Factors Behind Snowflake's Rise in the Database Market

3min

Looker Acquisition by Google Cloud Platform

17min

Exploring Firebolt and the Complexities of Cloud Data Warehouses

2min

Semantic Layers and Metrics Layers in the Data Industry

12min

Joining Mark Rittman for this 100th Episode Special are Keenan Rice (previously Founding Team, GTM Executive at Looker, now GM at Firebolt), Stewart Bryson (previously CEO at Red Pill Analytics, now Head of Customer Experience at Coalesce) and joining us mid-way through the show as our even more special mystery guest, Jake Stein (previously Co-Founder and COO at RJ Metrics, CEO and Co-Founder at Stitch and now CEO and Co-Founder at Common Paper.

Drill to Detail Past Episodes discussed on the show were:

Drill To Detail Ep.1. 'After The Gartner BI&A Magic Quadrant 2016', With Special Guest Stewart Bryson

Drill to Detail Ep.23 ‘Looker, BigQuery and Analytics on Big Data’ With Special Guest Daniel Mintz

Drill to Detail Ep.33 'Building Out Analytics Functions in Startups' With Special Guest Tristan Handy

Drill to Detail Ep.71 'The Rise of Snowflake Data Warehouse' With Special Guest Kent Graziano

Drill to Detail Ep.69 'Looker, Tableau and Consolidation in the BI Industry' featuring Special Guests Tristan Handy and Stewart Bryson

Drill to Detail Ep.89 'Firebolt and the History of Cloud Data Warehousing' with Special Guest Eldad Farkash

Drill to Detail Ep.99 “Is the Modern Data Stack Dead?” with Special Guest Chris Tabb

Other show notes below:

Gartner Makes it Official: The Age of Self-Service Is Upon Us

RJMetrics Acquired by Magento Commerce, Pipeline is now Stitch

The Startup Founders’ Guide to Analytics - Tristan Handy