Virtual Event: Foundations > AI

Artificial Intelligence is going to revolutionize how businesses operate—but without the right data, AI is blindfolded and handcuffed. In this session, Harshit Kohli (Senior Technical Account Manager, AWS) and Mike Albritton (SVP of Cloud) come together to unpack one of the most pressing questions of our time: What will it take to power AI in the enterprise?

You'll hear from Harshit on why enterprise AI initiatives often stall due to data friction—siloed systems, access bottlenecks, and governance nightmares—and what organizations can do today to future-proof their AI strategies. From his perspective at the intersection of machine learning research and hands-on enterprise implementation at AWS, Harshit will share how AI becomes truly transformative when it's deeply connected to business-critical data.

Then, Mike will take us behind the scenes at CData, revealing how our cloud-native innovations are purpose-built to solve these very challenges. From secure data virtualization to governed LLM connectivity, he'll outline our roadmap to help customers seamlessly activate their data for AI, today and tomorrow.

Join Sami Hero, CEO of Ellie.ai, as he shares how Ellie is reinventing data modeling with AI-native tools that empower both technical and non-technical users. With CData Embedded Cloud, Ellie brings live metadata and data models from systems like Snowflake, Databricks, and Oracle Financials into a unified modeling workspace. Their platform translates legacy structures into human-readable insights, letting users interact with a copilot-style assistant to discover, refine, and maintain data models faster—with less reliance on analysts.

You'll see how Ellie uses generative AI to recommend new entities, reconcile differences between models and live systems, and continuously document evolving data environments. Learn how corporations are using Ellie and CData together to scale high-quality data modeling across teams. reducing rework, accelerating delivery of analytics-ready models, and making enterprise architecture accessible to the business.

Join Ittichai Chammavanijakul, Senior Automation Manager and Enterprise Architect at Zebra Technologies, as he shares how Zebra—a global leader in edge computing devices and asset management solutions—transformed its order management and sales analytics processes using CData's connectivity solutions. Discover how Zebra automated the extraction and processing of customer orders received via email, leveraging CData's Salesforce ODBC Driver and UiPath to save hundreds of hours each month for service teams. Learn how this automation not only improved operational efficiency but also enhanced customer experience through real-time order updates via Salesforce Service Cloud. Looking ahead, Ittichai will discuss Zebra's exploration of CData's MCP Server for Salesforce, which aims to bring generative AI-powered analytics and "talk to your data" capabilities to Zebra's sales leaders. This session will provide actionable insights for organizations seeking to streamline operations, unlock the value of their Salesforce data, and empower teams with next-generation AI tools.

Large enterprises operate in sprawling data ecosystems that span lakes, warehouses, SaaS platforms, AI models, and countless integrations. Without a single source of truth and trust in that data — assurance it's accurate, complete, and understood — AI can't perform to its potential.

True AI readiness starts with a trusted data foundation that extends across every system, source, and user. In this session, Jessica Smith, VP of Data Quality at Ataccama, will explore how leaders can operationalize data quality at scale — turning complexity into clarity and enabling AI to deliver measurable business outcomes. She'll share strategies for building confidence in data across the enterprise, from unifying fragmented sources to embedding quality checks into daily workflows, so data always power AI it can rely on.

Finance leaders today are under pressure to deliver fast, accurate insights-without expanding headcount or relying heavily on IT. Whether you're a lean startup or a client-facing consultancy, the way you move, connect, and analyze data makes all the difference.

In this session, Marcelo Lavanhini, CFO at real estate tech startup RLTYco, and Benjamin Lehrer, CEO of FP&A consultancy First Water Finance, share how they've transformed their financial analytics in different ways with CData.

Marcelo automated reporting by connecting Salesforce and Sage Intacct directly to Power BI and Excel, streamlining reconciliation and saving over 10x the cost of an additional hire. Meanwhile, Benjamin's team uses CData Sync to consolidate client data in one warehouse and deliver faster reporting, while just starting to implement CData's new AI connectors to explore AI-powered insights using natural language.

You'll learn how:

• CData powers real-time finance dashboards and board-ready reports
• FP&A teams can scale insight delivery without adding headcount
• AI and natural language are reshaping how finance teams interact with data
• If you're in finance or accounting and want to eliminate manual reporting and future-proof your analytics stack, this session is for you.

Join Daniel Schaefer, Principal Solutions Engineer at Sisense, to explore how Sisense helps software companies embed AI-powered analytics into their own products—no matter how fragmented their customers' data environments may be. Learn how Sisense embedded CData's connectors into their API and SDK ecosystem to normalize access across dozens of customer systems in real time.

Daniel will show how Sisense pairs with CData's JDBC and API connectivity to power copilots, dashboards, and AI assistants that actually work, without waiting on full data centralization. You'll walk away with a practical look at how to deliver embedded analytics that adapts to messy data realities, accelerates customer onboarding, and supports generative AI features out of the box.