Why Great AI Solutions Start with Listening: Navigating the Data Quality Crisis with Joe Reis Part 2
September 18, 2025
So, you’ve got your data in place. Now what? The world of data collection, analysis and engineering is undergoing a massive overhaul and it can be hard to keep on. In part 2 of this Bringing Data and AI To Life episode, host Nick Dobbins, Worldwide VP and Field CTO at Informatica, and Joe Reis, bestselling author of "Fundamentals of Data Engineering" and Data Engineer, continue to unpack why prioritizing business problems over technological solutions in AI implementation is critical.
Tune in to discover practical strategies for better active listening, translating technical concepts into business value, and mastering the fundamentals in an AI-first world. The keys to unlocking the potential of the data ecosystem are where you least expect them to be.
So, you’ve got your data in place. Now what? The world of data collection, analysis and engineering is undergoing a massive overhaul and it can be hard to keep on. In part 2 of this Bringing Data and AI To Life episode, host Nick Dobbins, Worldwide VP and Field CTO at Informatica, and Joe Reis, bestselling author of "Fundamentals of Data Engineering" and Data Engineer, continue to unpack why prioritizing business problems over technological solutions in AI implementation is critical.
What You’ll Learn
- How to adopt a "problem-first" approach and resist the trap of tool-driven solutions
- Why active listening and business literacy are crucial skills for data professionals in the AI era
- The art of communicating data projects, simply, to gain business buy-in
- Why philosophy, arts, and knowledge sciences are becoming essential skills for data professionals
- The strategic importance of understanding semantic layers, knowledge graphs, and ontologies in an AI-first world
- How to future-proof your career by creating new roles and opportunities in the evolving data landscape
- Why self-directed learning and broad reading across disciplines are critical for navigating the AI transformation
If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to subscribe, rate, and review it on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Instructions on how to do this are here.
This podcast is brought to you by Informatica, the leader in enterprise cloud data management.
Links:
Joe Reis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josephreis
Joe’s Practical Data Modeling Substack: https://practicaldatamodeling.substack.com/
Joe’s Book “Fundamentals of Data Engineering”: https://www.amazon.in/Fundamentals-Data-Engineering-Systems-Grayscale/dp/9355421540
Nick Dobbins LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-dobbins-guiding-data-modernization-with-responsible-ai
Informatica Website: https://www.informatica.com/
Data & AI Architecture Summit: https://now.informatica.com/ai-architecture-summit2025.html?Source=INFAPodcast
If you enjoyed this episode, please visit:
We want to hear from you:
Bringing Data and AI to Life Guest and Audience Feedback
Leave us a voice note!
Previous guests include:
Salema Rice host of Data Governance and Data Integration Solution Sales, Willem Koenders of ZS Associates, Tanja Ubert of Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, Graeme Thompson of Informatica
Check out our Top episodes:
Bringing Data and AI to Life Guest and Audience Feedback
Leave us a voice note!
Previous guests include:
Salema Rice host of Data Governance and Data Integration Solution Sales, Willem Koenders of ZS Associates, Tanja Ubert of Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences, Graeme Thompson of Informatica
Check out our Top episodes:
- Why Do We Still Struggle to Trust AI? with Graeme Thompson from Informatica
- Data Quality Over Quantity and the Human Element, with Tanja Ubert from Rotterdam University
- The Power of Data Governance and Responsible AI with Salema Rice, Chief Executive Officer at CDO Today