210: From Reporting Basics to AI Automation with Eric Dodds and John Wessel: Navigating the Complexities of Data Standardization, Observability, and Business Alignment

This week on The Data Stack Show, Eric and John talk about the complexities of reporting and analytics in the data industry. They discuss the evolution of job titles, the critical need for standardization, and the challenges of effective reporting. The conversation also highlights the importance of observability, consistency and effective communication between data and business teams. Eric and John also touch on the impact of AI and automation on data quality and reporting processes and emphasize the need for a collaborative approach and robust monitoring systems. This episode provides valuable insights for enhancing data-driven decision-making in various business contexts and so much more. 

Highlights from this week’s conversation include:

• Reporting and Analytics Discussion (1:09)

• Automation in Reporting (3:16)

• AI's Impact on Analytics (5:00)

• Data Quality Challenges (6:56)

• Reinventing Reporting (9:23)

• Automated Reporting Services (14:35)

• Growth Trajectory of Reporting Tools (16:01)

• Market Size Comparison (18:04)

• Static vs. Time Series Data (21:27)

• Differentiating Reporting and Analytics (26:26)

• Ad Hoc Analysis vs. Reporting (29:52)

• The Role of Data Scientists (34:03)

• Planning the Reset (38:36)

• Focus on Business Problems (41:30)

• Identifying Business Needs (44:01)

• Heuristics and Intuition (48:03)

• Importance of Monitoring (52:20)

• Observability in Analytics (55:53)

• Observability in Metrics (58:08)

• Consistency in Definitions (1:02:39)

• Impact of Changing Definitions and Final Takeaways (1:04:15)

The Data Stack Show is a weekly podcast powered by RudderStack, the CDP for developers. Each week we’ll talk to data engineers, analysts, and data scientists about their experience around building and maintaining data infrastructure, delivering data and data products, and driving better outcomes across their businesses with data.

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