WTF is Data Engineering? (video)

WTF is data engineering? Good question. Here’s a presentation I did this week for AI Startups SF, where I described what data engineering is, what data engineers do, myths, and the future of data engineering. Enjoy!

Total Opportunity Cost of Ownership

Choosing the right technology often comes down to cost – the time and money required Total cost of ownership (TCO) is as ancient as enterprise software itself. While TCO has been a mainstay for decades, there’s another cost that’s perhaps more onerous and far less discussed – total opportunity cost of ownership. As new technologies … [Read more…]

What is a recovering data scientist?

“What is a recovering data scientist?” This question arrives in my LinkedIn messages at least once a week. It’s easy to see why, since my LinkedIn title says “recovering data scientist”. While “recovering data scientist” is admittedly a bit clickbaity, there’s also considerable truth to the moniker. The “recovering data scientist” schtick started several years … [Read more…]

Data Heretics Live, Episode 2

What a funny place LinkedIn can be. Since I dropped most social media, I’ve met quite a few cool data people from all over the globe on LinkedIn. I met a group of fellow “data heretics” from places like Australia, Singapore, and Montana. We all have contrarian views on data science, and decided to film … [Read more…]

Your Company Probably Isn’t Ready For Data Science (And That’s OK!)

Your company wants to “do data science” ** or “become a data company”. These are definitely noble and well intentioned goals. Not trying to be negative, but I’m going to bet that your company probably isn’t ready for data science. And that’s perfectly OK. For the past several years, I’ve led data initiatives for companies … [Read more…]

How To Deal With Tech Burnout

Tech burnout is real, and a lot of my friends working in tech are currently experiencing burnout in a major way. Friends of all personality dispositions, ages, technical skill sets, titles, and disciplines are all simultaneously burning out. Top caliber people and totally burned out. I think there’s something particular with tech burnout. The tech … [Read more…]

“AWS Cloud Is A Fad”

“AWS cloud is a fad”. At least that’s the gist of what I heard when a friend told me about somebody leaving a company due to a critical initiative to move IT and data resources to the cloud. The cloud happens to be on AWS. I sat there stunned for a moment, mostly because I … [Read more…]

Anecdotes on Asian Technology Use

Since I’m currently visiting Asia, here are some of my personal observations on Asian technology use. Not comprehensive or scientific, but just some things I’ve noticed on several visits over the years, across several countries. Mobile is king. I very rarely see desktop computers. The notion that Asia leapfrogged the desktop is very obvious. Everyone … [Read more…]