Why Online Retailer Zalando Was First to Embrace the Data Mesh

The Data Chief

Most data professionals aspire to be leaders within a single industry. It’s rare to see professionals establish and re-establish themselves as powerful influencers across multiple verticals. But this is precisely what Dr. Alexander Borek has done, helping some of the world’s most recognizable brands scale tangible value from data, analytics, and AI. In this episode, he covers a wide range of topics, including his personal career journey, creating cultures of innovation, centralized vs. decentralized data products, and the imminent impact of generative AI.

Key Moments:

• Background on Zalando [2:15]
• Dr. Borek’s The Ultimate Data and AI Guide [5:32]
• Becoming a data leader in multiple industries [7:02]
• Germany’s growing data culture [14:30]
• The need for a greater sense of urgency in data understanding [17:07]
• The origins of the data mesh [19:33]
• The benefits of cross-team collaboration [24:44]
• Data mash vs. data fabric [31:30]
• Using data for insight and action [37:28]
• The rapid expansion of generative technologies [40:10]

Mentions:

• Bernard Marr
• The Ultimate Data and AI Guide
• Netflix
• Volkswagen Manufacturing
• Celonis
• Data Warehousing Institute
• The Wall Street Journal
• Kubernetes
• Gartner
• IBM Advanced Analytics Center
• ChatGPT

You can join Alex in person at the Data Masterclass Europe 2023 conference! The conference will be held in Berlin from June 21-23. Apply to join here.

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Hear more from Cindi Howson here. Sponsored by ThoughtSpot.