Next-Generation Analytics: From Semantic Layers to Generative BI – Insights from TDWI’s Q3 Blueprint Report
Webinar Speaker: Fern Halper, TDWI VP Research, Senior Research Director for Advanced Analytics
Date: Tuesday, September 8, 2026
Time: 9:00 a.m. PT / 12:00 p.m. ET
Organizations have spent years investing in self-service analytics, but many still struggle to deliver trusted insights at scale. Now, generative AI is transforming how users interact with data through conversational analytics, natural language query, AI-generated insights, and intelligent copilots. Although these capabilities promise to broaden access to analytics, organizations are discovering that successful generative BI requires much more than adding AI to existing BI platforms. Trusted business context, semantic consistency, governance, and metadata are becoming foundational capabilities for delivering accurate, reliable, and scalable AI-assisted analytics.
In this webinar, Fern Halper, Ph.D., VP of Research at TDWI, will present key findings from TDWI's Q3 Blueprint Report: Next-Generation Analytics: From Semantic Layers to Generative BI. Drawing on survey research and qualitative insights from data and AI leaders, Fern will examine what distinguishes organizations that are successfully deploying generative BI from those still struggling to move beyond early experimentation. She will be joined by experts from Snowflake who will share practical perspectives on building trusted, AI-enabled analytics environments.
Topics include:
- How organizations are successfully implementing and scaling generative BI
- Why semantic layers, metadata, and business context are becoming the foundation for trusted AI-assisted analytics
- How leading organizations are balancing analytics democratization with governance, consistency, and security
- The architectural and organizational practices that distinguish high-performing generative BI initiatives
Guest Speakers
Josh Klahr
Director of Analytics Product Management
Snowflake
Josh Klahr is the Director of Product Management at Snowflake, where he helps drive the core analytics product roadmap and strategy. Josh has over 25 years of experience working with data and analytics. Prior to joining Snowflake, Josh was VP of product management for Splunk, where he was responsible for the Splunk Enterprise and Splunk Cloud product lines. He has also spent time in product management roles at Yahoo!, Pivotal Software, Greenplum, and AtScale.
Dave Mariani
Founder & Chief Technology Officer
AtScale
Dave is the founder of AtScale and is the Chief Technology Officer. Prior to AtScale, he was VP of Engineering at Klout and at Yahoo! where he managed some of the world’s biggest data and analytics challenges. Mariani is a Big Data visionary and serial entrepreneur.