A Bathtub of Data Holds an Ocean of Information (plus the Midmarket Paradox and Other News)
Release Date: 08/21/2024
Connecting AI to Your Company's Internal Information
Raw Data By P3 Adaptive
AI wants your data, but it can't handle the truth . . . “We’ll just plug our data into ChatGPT.” Sure. Sounds easy. Rob thought so too, right up until he hit token limits, had to install Python, and discovered that even two megabytes of transcripts was too much for the world’s smartest models to handle. In this episode, Rob and Justin break down what happens when you try to use AI on your company’s internal data. Spoiler: it’s a lot more complicated than the vendors make it sound. From semantic search to retrieval augmented generation (RAG), they unpack why the dream of “ask AI...
info_outline
An Inflection Point in AI? Understanding MCP and Multi-Agent
Raw Data By P3 Adaptive
For a while, you could pretend AI was still a someday problem. Not anymore. Rob Collie and Justin Mannhardt are back, and this time they are tackling Model-Context-Protocol (MCP) and Multi-Agent Systems, two shifts that could finally put an end to the human copy-paste Olympics. This isn’t about shinier tools. It is about AI that plugs in without the duct tape and starts doing the work without making you babysit. Rob and Justin dig into what’s real, what’s coming, and why "waiting to see" is no longer a strategy. MCP is being called the USB-C of AI. Multi-Agent Systems are making AI...
info_outline
Confessions of a Data Gener w/ Sakiko Stickley
Raw Data By P3 Adaptive
Sakiko Stickley joins Raw Data to share a story that is part inspiration, part revelation, and a whole lot of truth-telling. From the first moment she discovered Power Pivot, Sakiko did not just learn data. She lived it. She rewired reporting systems, survived micromanagers, and navigated the strange realities of big consulting firms, all while quietly proving that one person, one model, and a little bit of DAX can change everything. In this episode, we get an inside look at how a passion for smarter systems can collide with corporate inertia, what it really feels like to challenge the status...
info_outline
The Biggest Improvements Announced at FabCon, and the Ever-Widening Gap Between Adoption and Capabilities
Raw Data By P3 Adaptive
What’s the value of a long-awaited feature? Well, that depends. Have you ever tried explaining a fiscal calendar that doesn’t believe in months? This week, Rob Collie and Justin Mannhardt dive into the latest Microsoft Fabric updates, including the long-rumored, almost-mythical custom calendar support in DAX, the highly requested user-defined functions, and the Copilot expansion that might finally be worth the hype. These updates aren’t just bells and whistles; they’re fixes to problems that have been quietly driving your team up the wall for a decade. And while the tech is cool, the...
info_outline
Data, Data, and Metadata: Letting ChatGPT Interpret Power BI Output
Raw Data By P3 Adaptive
What happens when you hand off your Power BI output to ChatGPT and ask it to make sense of your world? You might be surprised. This week, Rob shares a deeply personal use case. One that ties together two major themes we've been exploring: Gen AI is reshaping the way we think about dashboards. To get real value out of AI, you need more than just data. You need metadata. And yes, that kind of metadata—the kind you create in Power BI when you translate raw data into something meaningful. Along the way, we revisit the old guard of data warehousing. The mighty (and now dusty?) ETL priesthood....
info_outline
AI Agents, Business Bros, and Snake Oil
Raw Data By P3 Adaptive
AI agents are making big waves, but are they the future of business or just another passing trend? In this episode, Rob Collie and Justin Mannhardt explore the rise of AI agents, what they actually do, and why the excitement might be a little premature. They unpack the risks, the rewards, and how leaders can navigate the hype with a bit of caution and a lot of curiosity. Rob and Justin discuss the fine balance between automation and human oversight, tackling questions about when it's smart to embrace AI and when it might be better to pause. They also share thoughts on the current SaaS...
info_outline
One Data Model to Rule them All?
Raw Data By P3 Adaptive
Listener John sent in a classic question: should you build one all-encompassing data model, or should each part of your business have its own? If you think the answer is black and white, well, welcome to the world of data modeling, where nuance reigns supreme. Rob and Justin dive deep into the pros, cons, and inevitable mistakes of both approaches. Along the way, they call out the biggest modeling traps, expose the myths that make projects stall, and introduce a revolutionary new acronym: JGS (Just Get Started). Because, spoiler alert, the best data model is the one that actually gets built....
info_outline
Miller's Theorem: A Principle for Getting Off the Fence
Raw Data By P3 Adaptive
Ever find yourself overthinking a problem until you’ve thought yourself right into a corner? Yeah, we’ve been there too. But what if there was a way to cut through the noise and just know when something is a good idea? Enter Miller’s Theorem, a simple but sneaky-effective thought experiment that’s been kicking around in our conversations for years. It’s the kind of thing that sounds like nonsense at first until it doesn’t. In this episode, we unpack how a casual visit to a bougie home décor store in Seattle turned into an existential crisis over tariffs, pricing psychology, and...
info_outline
Rethinking the ROI of Dashboards
Raw Data By P3 Adaptive
For years, dashboards have been the go-to for business intelligence. Built with the best intentions, loaded with visuals, and meant to empower decision-makers. But are they actually delivering? A recent Reddit thread raised a tough question: "Has anyone here moved away from dashboards as their main source of insights?" It’s not the usual “Dashboards are dead” hype. It’s a real challenge from BI pros who build them. The problem? Analysts say dashboards can’t keep up with how they really explore data. Executives and business users aren’t using them as intended, leading to more ad...
info_outline
Why the Data Gene is (Still) Under-Represented in Management
Raw Data By P3 Adaptive
Ever sat in a meeting, watching a decision unfold that makes zero sense—bad for business, bad for employees—while the data that should be guiding the way is ignored? You’re not alone. In this solo episode, Rob Collie takes on a question that’s been circling for years: why aren’t more people with a data-driven mindset in leadership positions? The answer isn’t as simple as “because they should be.” There are deep-rooted reasons why persuasion often wins over precision and why data folks get stuck in support roles instead of calling the shots. But here’s the thing, change is...
info_outlineIs the Midmarket Secretly Winning with the Microsoft Data Platform?
In this episode, host Rob Collie explores a surprising quirk in how Microsoft's powerful data tools like Power BI and Fabric are being used.
It turns out that midsize companies - not big enterprises - are actually getting the most bang for their buck from these game-changing data platforms. The episode explains how the speed and affordability of the new Microsoft tools give smaller organizations a real advantage.
Rob also shares an unexpected lesson he's recently uncovered through his own personal analytics projects. Even with just two basic data points per player, he was able to unlock a crazy amount of useful insights and stories. It just goes to show the hidden richness that can be found in even the most simple datasets. Check out the Hockey Dashboard referenced!
So tune in to find out how a "bathtub" of data can hold an "ocean" of information - plus hear about the midmarket's secret winning strategy. It's an episode you won’t want to miss!
Subscribe now for new episodes every week, packed with practical data insights!