The Ravit Show

AI is only as powerful as the data you give it. At AI4 this week, I sat down with Zack Wenthe 🧠📢, Director of Product Marketing at Tealium, to unpack why a trusted, real-time data foundation is becoming the make-or-break factor for AI success.We started with the basics — trust. If your AI does not have reliable, clean data, everything it produces is at risk. Zack shared why this foundation is non-negotiable for enterprises.Then we explored “real-time.” AI has redefined it from milliseconds to near-instant context and action. Tealium’s approach to orchestrating customer data in real time is not just about speed — it is about making the right decision at the right moment.Zack also gave a preview of his talk, 5 Trends That Will Change Your Customer Data Strategy & Marketing Future. His point was clear: traditional strategies cannot keep up, and marketers who embrace AI-driven approaches will be the ones to thrive.We closed on action. From AIStream and MCP integration to partnerships with Databricks and Snowflake, Tealium provides practical ways to start leveraging AI today — with innovations like Sia pushing the boundaries even further.The takeaway: In the AI era, your data foundation is your competitive advantage.#data #ai #ai4 #tealium #theravitshow

The AI ecosystem is moving fast and that includes the companies behind it. I spoke with Jeff Mills, President of iMerit Technology on The Ravit Show about what recent founder exits and shifting strategies from big players mean for the data annotation and labeling industry!!!!Jeff explained that in a market where trust and longevity matter more than ever, companies building high-stakes AI products cannot afford to rely on unstable or short-term partners. The risk is not just disruption, it is potential failure of entire AI initiatives if the data foundation is compromised.We also discussed what AI companies should look for in a data quality partner today. With innovation moving at breakneck speed, reliability, scalability, and domain expertise are just as critical as technology. It is not about one-off projects but about building trusted, long-term partnerships that evolve with the industry.Jeff highlighted what sets iMerit apart from the dozens of vendors in the market: a proven ability to deliver high-quality data pipelines at scale, a focus on trust, and a commitment to supporting customers as their needs shift from simple annotation toward powering complex AI systems.The takeaway: as AI advances, data quality remains the foundation. And choosing the right partner may determine not only the success of your current models, but your ability to innovate sustainably in the years ahead.What do you think?#data #ai #imerit #ai4 #theravitshow

The era of traditional digital transformation is over. Is it? What do you think?I spoke with Tim McIntire from Hyland on The Ravit Show about why enterprises can no longer think of transformation as just migrating to the cloud or modernizing applications. Those moves may reduce costs or simplify IT, but they do not fundamentally change how businesses operate!Tim explained that the real shift comes with AI agents. These agents are not just tools that automate repetitive tasks. They are intelligent systems that can learn, adapt, and work alongside people in real timeThey change the way decisions are made, how information flows, and how quickly businesses can respond to customers and markets.We also talked about why cloud migration alone is not enough. Without intelligence embedded into processes, enterprises simply recreate the same inefficiencies in a different environment. True transformation requires agents that can cut through friction, connect data, and surface insights the moment they are needed.Hyland calls this agentic transformation, a continuous evolution where AI agents are woven into the fabric of business operations. It is not a one-time project, but an ongoing journey where processes become more adaptive, collaborative, and intelligent over time.The key takeaway: in the AI era, transformation is no longer about where your systems run, but how intelligently they operate and how seamlessly they work with the people who rely on them.#data #ai #agents #hyland #theravitshow

I spoke with Tim McIntire, EVP and CTO, Hyland on The Ravit Show about one of the biggest questions enterprises are facing today: how to scale AI agents responsibly and effectively!!!!Tim shared that the real challenge is not just building the agents, but preparing the right foundation for them to operate at scale. Without trusted data and thoughtful governance, AI agents risk creating more problems than they solve.Hyland is working with customers to put that foundation in place, ensuring AI agents are embedded into workflows in a way that augments people rather than replaces them. The focus is on collaboration between humans and agents, not competition.Looking ahead, Tim sees AI agents becoming much more integrated into day-to-day operations within the next one to two years. Success will come to those enterprises that can strike the right balance: equipping agents with data they can trust, while maintaining transparency and control for the humans who rely on them.The future of AI is not just about agents running faster, it is about building systems where people and AI can work better together.I can't wait to meet again at the COMMUNITYLIVE next week in Vegas!!!!#data #ai #ai4 #hyland #theravitshow

Everyone’s excited about GenAI — but building real, reliable agents? That’s where it gets tricky. I chatted Holly Smith and Nick Karpov from Databricks at the Data + AI Summit on The Ravit Show to talk about the tools that are actually making agentic AI work in the enterprise.We covered two big launches:🔹 Agent Bricks – Designed to reduce the cost and complexity of deploying AI agents in production. Holly and Nick walked me through how it’s solving real-world problems — and what kinds of use cases are already gaining traction across industries.🔹 MLflow 3.0 – The latest update has been reimagined for GenAI workflows, with better support for LLMs and more streamlined experimentation. It’s a big step toward faster iteration and safer deployment of AI models.We also geeked out a bit on how Databricks uses its own platform internally — always fun to hear how the builders are also the power users.Great convo with two people who live and breathe this stuff.#data #ai #databricks #DataAISummit #theravitshow

How do you modernize data management while keeping the reliability of the mainframe?This was the central theme of my conversation with Tomer Zelberzviq, Senior Product Manager at BMC Software. Mainframes have been the backbone of enterprise IT for decades, but today’s cloud-driven environment demands scalability, cyber resiliency, operational efficiency, and compliance at a whole new level.In this interview, Tomer and I discussed:-- Why modernization is still a major challenge for enterprises running on mainframes-- How technologies like Cloud Data Sets are changing the game for security, resilience, and cost efficiency-- Strategies to protect mainframe data against ransomware and cyber threats-- How to make mainframe data accessible for AI and analytics, eliminating silos without disrupting core systemsThis session goes beyond buzzwords. It’s about real solutions that help enterprises bridge legacy reliability with modern innovation.#data #ai #mainframes #bmc #theravitshow

AI doesn’t work without the right data layer. And that’s why Lakebase is turning heads this year. I had a blast chatting with Holly Smith and Nick Karpov from Databricks at the Data + AI Summit, where we dug into some of the most exciting (and most technical) announcements from this year — especially Lakebase.We unpacked why Lakebase is such a big deal:• It’s not just another feature — it’s about making the database layer finally work for AI.• Traditional databases weren’t built for the scale, speed, or flexibility that production AI agents demand — Lakebase is changing that.• We also talked about the Neon acquisition — and why it’s generating so much buzz in the data community.From a data engineer’s lens, the big question is always: Does this make my job easier?Lakebase, combined with AI-native platform features, is a big step toward faster, cleaner AI project delivery.Holly and Nick also gave me a look at what’s coming with Spark Declarative Pipelines — bridging declarative simplicity with real developer control.Big thanks to both for the great chat.#data #ai #DataAISummit #databricks #theravitshow

Privacy, governance, and security — three things that are becoming even more critical as AI goes mainstream. I spoke to Anshu Sharma, Co-Founder & CEO of Skyflow, at Data + AI Summit on The Ravit Show to talk about where the market’s heading and how enterprises are thinking about secure AI adoption.We covered:🔹 The latest trends in data governance and privacy, especially in the context of GenAI🔹 What’s getting enterprises excited right now — and where they’re putting their focus🔹 How this space is likely to evolve in the next 3–6 months, as more orgs go from experimentation to production🔹 And Skyflow’s long-term vision: enabling innovation without compromising trustIf your AI strategy includes sensitive data (and it probably should), this conversation is worth a listen.#data #ai #DataAISummit #databricks #skyflow #governance #security #theravitshow

I had a chance to interview one and only Jeff Lunsford, CEO of Tealium, at the Data + AI Summit, and we had a real conversation about what it actually takes to deliver AI-powered customer experiences. One key takeaway: AI is only as good as the data feeding it — and that data needs to be real-time, consented, and privacy-compliant. That’s where Tealium comes in.We spoke about the launch of CloudStream and how it’s helping enterprises push clean, event-driven customer data into platforms like Databricks without delays or duplication.Jeff also shared how Tealium’s working with Databricks to close the gap between marketing data and AI — making it easier for teams to build smarter, faster, and more responsible experiences.Always great to dig into how different layers of the stack come together.#data #ai #tealium #DataAISummit #agents #cdp #databricks #theravitshow

One of the most honest conversations I had at Data + AI Summit by Databricks was with Sally Liu (Machine Learning Engineer at Kumo) and Raymond Yao (Coinbase) — two people building and applying AI where it really matters. Learn more -- https://kumo.ai/?utm_source=ravit&utm_medium=influencer&utm_campaign=snowflake_databricks2025&utm_term=the_ravit_showWe talked about:- The biggest opportunities and roadblocks in deploying machine learning at scale — across both platforms and real-world fintech- What’s getting their attention beyond LLMs — including models and infrastructure they believe are next- The real talk on ROI — not every AI project pays off, so we dug into which efforts have actually delivered business impact- And that eternal question: build vs. buy? Their perspectives on when to lean on in-house innovation vs. external tools were refreshingly groundedIt’s always great to hear from folks who are in the trenches, balancing experimentation with results.#data #ai #DataAISummit #databricks #kumo #agents #machinelearning #theravitshow