Expert Panel: Building a Scalable Data Foundation for AI and Analytics
Webinar Speaker: Donald Farmer, Research Fellow
Date: Monday, January 12, 2026
Time: 9:00 a.m. PT / 12:00 p.m. ET
As organizations look to utilize AI for true business impact, they are discovering that success depends on having a strong, scalable data foundation. Data quality, accessibility, governance, and architecture all play critical roles in enabling productive AI. That explains why TDWI research indicates that the top priority for organizations when updating or modernizing their data management strategies is improving support for AI. Yet many enterprises still struggle with fragmented data environments, legacy systems, and inconsistent data practices that limit their ability to scale.
In this expert panel webinar, we’ll explore how leading organizations are modernizing their data foundations to support enterprise-scale AI and analytics. Topics include:
- Strategies for unifying data across hybrid and multicloud environments
- Embedding governance, security, and trust into data pipelines
- Building flexible architectures that support both analytics and AI workloads
- Preparing for future innovations in data management and AI enablement such as agentic AI
Guest Speakers
Andrew Madson
Principal, Developer Relations
Fivetran
Andrew Madson leads developer relations at Fivetran, where he builds global programs that help developers and data teams adopt modern data and AI tooling. He has built DevRel, education, and evangelism functions at Fivetran, Tobiko Data, and Dremio, delivering technical content, large-scale community programs, and keynotes across major industry conferences.
Andrew is a published author of the O’Reilly “Definitive Guide to Apache Polaris” and a graduate professor of data science and engineering. Andrew previously led AI and data teams at Arizona State University, J.P. Morgan Chase, and MassMutual among others.
Colin Dover
Business Technology Platform, Center of Excellence
SAP
As part of the SAP Business Technology Platform Center of Excellence, Colin represents a breadth of solutions within the SAP portfolio; he is an evangelist for the SAP digital transformation strategy and vision as well as a passionate advocate for the value and best practices of corporate customer data strategy and analytics capability maturity. He has held a variety of technical and strategic consulting roles at a number of market-leading enterprise software vendors gaining extensive experience over a 24-year period, working with many of the world’s leading corporations.
William Jennings
Data Solutions Architecture Manager
ZoomInfo
William Jennings is a Data Solutions Architecture Manager at ZoomInfo, where he helps B2B organizations build scalable data foundations that power AI-driven go-to-market strategies. With more than seven years at ZoomInfo, William leads a team of presales consultants who partner with revenue operations leaders to modernize their data infrastructure, embed governance into GTM workflows, and prepare for enterprise-scale AI adoption. He specializes in helping organizations move beyond fragmented systems to create unified, trusted data environments that enable both immediate operational wins and long-term AI readiness.
Date: January 12, 2026
Time: 9:00 am PT