The Analytic Mind

Ever wonder what it’s like to work in Microsoft Modern Workplace Intelligence? In this episode of the Analytic Mind, Sam McKay spoke with Kristian Bubalo previously a Technical Specialist Intelligence and now a Cloud Solution Architect in Microsoft Switzerland. Dive in and discover his role within Microsoft. An insider update about the latest and greatest trends in Power BI. And most especially his role in the recently concluded Power BI Championship - Switzerland. Kristian Bubalo is working for Microsoft Switzerland as a Technical Specialist Modern Workplace Intelligence, in Wallisellen, Switzerland. Their goal is to empower every organization and every person to achieve more. With Power BI each individual is capable of analyzing their data - "Any data, any way, anywhere. And all in one view." For full show notes, and the links mentioned visit: https://www.enterprisedna.co/podcast/microsoft-modern-workplace-intelligence/ Be our guest, register here: https://www.enterprisedna.co/be-our-podcast-guest/

A business intelligence (BI) service facilitates the use of structured data in order to enable data-driven decision-making across the organization. It is an end-to-end service that handles the extraction, organization, and maintenance of data. So if you're a small business with limited IT resources or someone who's interested in exploring this service model using Power BI, this episode's for you. There's more to Power BI than building a consulting business. Erik Svensen, a Microsoft Business Intelligence specialist, and Microsoft MVP data platform. He is also the founder of CatMan Solution, a Power BI consulting company based in Northern Europe, and a Microsoft Gold Partner for Data Analytics. The company offers business analytics consulting, design, and implementation of tailor-made data analytics solutions to mid-to-large CPG organizations throughout Northern Europe and the world. The organization's mission is to enable companies to adopt a data-driven culture through the use of Power BI, thereby helping them perform better. For full show notes, and the links mentioned visit: https://www.enterprisedna.co/podcast/business-intelligence-service/ Be our guest, register here: https://www.enterprisedna.co/be-our-podcast-guest/

If you are working in the BI & Analytics field, you may have heard of self-service business intelligence (BI). In fact, you might also have a strong interest in implementing Self-service BI into your organization. Self-service BI systems like Power BI allow you to put your data models into the hands of many users and let them analyze their own data without the involvement of developers. While every organization is different, there are some general guidelines that can ensure a successful implementation. Lars Schreiber is an independent consultant for Self-Service BI with Microsoft Power BI. He has more than 11  years of experience as a Controller in different industries. In 2017, he became a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP). He also founded the first German Power BI User Group in Hamburg. The following year, he decided to do his own thing and became a freelancer, helping companies with data analytics on a more advanced basis. In this episode, Lars talks about how he evolved his skillset around Power Pivot, Power Query, and Power BI. He’s experienced working with different kinds of customers. and what he thinks is necessary for a successful self-service PowerBI implementation. For full show notes, and the links mentioned visit: https://www.enterprisedna.co/podcast/self-service-business-intelligence/ Be our guest, register here: https://www.enterprisedna.co/be-our-podcast-guest/

Technology-based on no code enables effective "citizen development," where business users can rapidly develop apps and virtual agents without extensive IT assistance. In order to meet this business need, Microsoft's Power Platform combines the strengths of Power BI, Power Apps, Power Automate, and Power Virtual Agents. Sam McKay interviews Enterprise DNA expert Henry Habib in this episode of The Analytic Mind Podcast. He talks about his real-world experiences as a Power Platform Consultant and his passion for teaching people how to succeed with no-code platforms. Henry is currently an engagement manager at a leading management consulting firm, where he advises F500 companies on a variety of topics, including (i) using data and analytics to drive better decisions, and (ii) implementing tools to improve processes and workflows. In the course of working on his various projects, he discovered that there are a number of automation, productivity, and development tools that do not require any software background but still offer enterprise-grade solutions. Using these no-code platforms, anyone can automate workflows, create dashboards, and develop custom applications. There is, however, a gap in knowledge and awareness between these platforms and the average employee - and this is what Henry wants to address. For full show notes, and the links mentioned visit: https://www.enterprisedna.co/podcast/microsoft-power-platform/ Be our guest, register here: https://www.enterprisedna.co/be-our-podcast-guest/

A company’s success directly correlates with its people which is why employers and HR/talent acquisition personnel are constantly improving how they find, hire, and retain the best candidates. Data analytics plays a major role in this process. In this episode of The Analytic Mind Podcast, Sam McKay is joined by Tim Freestone, founder of Alooba, to talk about hiring in analytics and data literacy. From the big issues with CVs, and interviews, where companies typically go wrong to future trends in hiring and improving data literacy. Tim Freestone has spent his career in analytics, starting initially as a financial analyst. Throughout his career, Tim has gotten great first-hand experience in being both a candidate and a hiring manager in analytics. It’s this direct exposure to the myriad of issues in analytics hiring that led Tim to found Alooba, a skills assessment platform for data literacy, analytics & data science. Alooba’s vision is to create a world where everyone can get the job they deserve. This is a world – we can all agree – far from the one we live in right now. For full show notes, and the links mentioned visit: https://www.enterprisedna.co/podcast/hiring-in-analytics/ Be our guest, register here: https://www.enterprisedna.co/be-our-podcast-guest/

Businesses are increasingly recognizing the importance of data analytics in making informed decisions across all aspects of their operations. However, simply having access to data is not enough. They need to be able to extract value from it as well. They also need to have the skills and tools to analyze it effectively. How can businesses become more literate about their data in order to identify and respond to opportunities and threats strategically? George Mount is the founder and CEO of Stringfest Analytics, a consulting firm specializing in analytics education and upskilling. He has worked with leading bootcamps, learning platforms, and practice organizations to help individuals excel at analytics. He is the author of Advancing into Analytics: From Excel to Python and R (O’Reilly, 2021) and Enterprise DNA expert specializing in these topics. George is also an award-winning blogger, consultant, and educator at leading data science bootcamps and academic institutions. Combining a diverse background in academia and the private sector ranging from start-ups to nonprofits, his interests lie at the intersection of design and innovation through data-driven insights. In this episode, George talks about data analytics and literacy. He will discuss why data literacy is important to businesses, how Excel remains a powerful tool for organizing data and performing financial analysis, and how he provides value to clients. For full show notes, and the links mentioned visit: https://www.enterprisedna.co/podcast/improving-data-literacy/ Be our guest, register here: https://www.enterprisedna.co/be-our-podcast-guest/

In this engaging discussion, Greg Deckler, Vice President at Fusion Alliance and a six-time Microsoft MVP for Data Platform, dives into the evolution of Power BI from Excel to a powerful independent tool. He unpacks new features enhancing user experience and the importance of automation in complex data models. Deckler emphasizes best practices for data management and collaboration, while sharing insights from the MVP community. The conversation highlights the need for simplification to empower users transitioning from Excel to Power BI, ensuring effective data-driven decision-making.

There’s no question that it is important for companies to understand their data. The challenge most businesses face, however, is that they lack the time and manpower to gather, analyze, and report all of their relevant data. Moreover, big data has made it even more difficult for business owners to make decisions based on information spread out across multiple systems. How can businesses find solutions that will allow them to slice and dice data in many ways so that they can understand how different areas of the business perform? Pascal Kiefer is a Business Intelligence enthusiast and the founder of K Team Solutions Ltd as well as BI Samurai. He and his team of BI Samurais implement Power BI solutions for clients of all sizes and industries around the globe and his company K Team Solutions has developed a couple of Custom Visuals for Power BI. Pascal is coming from a finance background and used to work with SAP back in the days but quickly switch to Microsoft technology after opening his own business in 2016. In this episode, Pascal talks about what motivated him to establish K Team Solutions, how Pascal manages the standardization and visualization of report design, and how he enables clients to get their jobs done. For full show notes, and the links mentioned visit: https://www.enterprisedna.co/podcast/power-of-business-intelligence/ Be our guest, register here: https://www.enterprisedna.co/be-our-podcast-guest/

Data analytics skills are in high demand. Increasingly, companies are hiring data analytics skills not just to conduct research and generate reports, but also to act as thought leaders who will help companies gain a competitive edge by leveraging their skills strategically. No matter how experienced you are in data analytics, there are many marketing strategies you can implement as a data architect. You can demonstrate your value to employers by staying up-to-date on the latest technological innovations. Sam McKay interviews Reid Havens, the founder of Havens Consulting Inc. and a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP). You can learn about his thoughts on Data Architecture, offer your skills as an Analytics Architect, and gain insight from the MVP community as well as Microsoft. For full show notes, and the links mentioned visit: https://www.enterprisedna.co/podcast/data-analytics-architect/ Be our guest, register here: https://www.enterprisedna.co/be-our-podcast-guest/

Data are not all created equal. There are structured (machine-generated) and unstructured (human-generated) data, and each requires a different approach. As a result of the increased use of digital applications and services, unstructured information is growing rapidly. It is estimated that 80-90% of company data is unstructured, and the amount of unstructured data continues to grow at an alarming rate per year. In this episode of The Analytic Mind Podcast, Sam McKay speaks with Kirk Marple, the founder, and CEO of Unstruk Data. Hear about the hidden value in unstructured data and how it impacts the future of data and analytics. Kirk Marple is a Customer-focused Technology leader with extensive expertise with cloud-based microservices, scalable multimedia data ingestion, knowledge graphs (entity extraction/enrichment), machine learning and computer vision integration, and CPU/GPU-based file and data processing workflows. He is highly skilled at architecting and managing teams developing APIs and scalable services, leveraging on-premise and cloud infrastructure, generating significant cost savings, and supporting revenue growth for startups through Fortune 25 companies. Unstruk Data, is a company that is building the industry’s leading Unstructured Data Warehouse for automating data preparation via metadata enrichment, integrated compute, and graph-based search. Unstructured data can include anything from audio to visual data, and Kirk explains that analytics can be done on geospatial and temporal unstructured data. Then by using machine learning and artificial intelligence, it is possible to generate knowledge graphs based on this data. For full show notes, and the links mentioned visit: https://www.enterprisedna.co/podcast/utilizing-unstructured-data/ Be our guest, register here: https://www.enterprisedna.co/be-our-podcast-guest/