Podcast
Life Is But A Stream
Hosted by Confluent · EN
There’s a new divide in the data revolution—there are the organizations harnessing real-time data streaming for immediate impact, and there are those left in the dust.
Life Is But A Stream is a web show for technology leaders who need to act the instant data is created. Every episode, technical leaders and industry pioneers share how they’re utilizing data streaming to enrich, analyze, and put real-time data to work across use cases that were once unimaginable. Host Joseph Morais and senior tech leaders break down winning strategies with real-world examples, teaching you how to accelerate decision-making, achieve measurable business impact, and turn your data into your biggest competitive advantage.
Ready to lead the data streaming revolution? Join us on Life Is But A Stream.
Powered by the data streaming experts at Confluent.
26episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Ep 23 - Context Is Everything: How Wix's AI Agents Stay Ahead of the Rest
3w ago00:49:46Tap to summarizeReal-time data and AI are converging—and companies that have already solved the data pipeline problem are pulling ahead fast. Wix processes over 40 billion interactions every day across hundreds of millions of websites, and the architecture behind that scale didn't happen by accident. It was built, lane by lane, around the principle that your upstream data must be at least as fast as your fastest use case. In this episode, Josef Goldstein, Head of R&D for the Big Data Platform at Wix.com, joins Joseph Morais to unpack how Wix evolved from a batch-based Hadoop architecture to a fully streaming-first platform on Confluent Cloud. The conversation covers Wix's multi-lane data architecture—from petabyte-scale data lakes to sub-second algorithmic decisions—how they approach data contracts and governance at distributed scale, and why Confluent Freight Clusters became a strategic unlock for cost and elasticity. Josef also explains how Wix is now wiring real-time stream processing directly into context layers for agentic AI systems. You'll Learn: How to architect a multi-lane data streaming system that serves use cases from sub-second ML inference to petabyte-scale analytics Why upstream data quality, governance, and metadata are the real prerequisites for production-grade agentic AI How Confluent Freight Clusters reduced costs and unlocked elastic scale for Wix's highest-volume, latency-tolerant data streams About the Guest: Josef Goldstein is an Israeli software engineer and engineering manager specializing in big data infrastructure and real-time analytics. With over 15 years of experience in developing data-intensive SaaS applications, Goldstein has built and led high-performing teams in the technology sector. Since 2021, he has served as the Head of R&D for Wix's Big Data and Analytics Platform, where he oversees the infrastructure and tools enabling data-driven decisions for the company's users and operations. Guest Highlight: "You understand that you need to be on the upstream side of the house as fast as your fastest lane. Otherwise, none of that is possible." Chapters: [00:00] Wix.com Overview and Customer Base [07:08] Segment 1: Data Streaming Goodness [24:24] Segment 2: Beyond the Stream [45:37] Segment 3: Quick Bytes [47:08] Joseph’s Top Takeaways Dive Deeper into Data Streaming: EP1—Stream On: Unleashing Innovation With Data Streaming | Life Is But A Stream EP2—Processing Without Pause: Continuous Stream Processing and Apache Flink® | Life Is But A Stream EP3—The Connective Tissue: Shift Left to Turn Data Chaos to Clarity | Life Is But A Stream Get Connected: Connect with Joseph: @thedatagiant Joseph’s LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/thedatagiant Josef’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/josefgoldstein/ Our Sponsor: Your data shouldn’t be a problem to manage. It should be your superpower. The Confluent data streaming platform transforms organizations with trustworthy, real-time data that seamlessly spans your entire environment and powers innovation across every use case. Create smarter, deploy faster, and maximize efficiency with a true data streaming platform from the pioneers in data streaming. Learn more at confluent.io. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Transcribe →Ep 22 - Building the Agentic Enterprise: How AWS and Confluent Power Real-Time AI
Apr 2800:33:31Tap to summarizeMost enterprises don't need to build AI models from scratch—they need to put AI to work. That requires a data foundation that is real-time, reliable, and ready to serve intelligent systems at scale. In this episode, Varun Jasti, Solution Architect at AWS, joins host Joseph Morais to explore how AWS and Confluent are co-architecting the infrastructure layer for agentic AI. Varun draws a direct parallel between multi-agent system design and microservice architecture—explaining why Apache Kafka® on Confluent Cloud is the natural backbone for agent-to-agent coordination, stateful memory, and scalable provisioning. You'll Learn: Why AI value depends on data accessibility—not model sophistication alone How multi-agent architectures mirror microservice design, and why Kafka is the connective tissue How the AWS and Confluent partnership abstracts AI infrastructure so teams can focus on outcomes About the Guest: Varum Jastim is a Solution Architect at AWS, and an AI/ML enthusiast that likes building on the cloud to architect solutions for AWS Partners who need to adhere to federal compliances and regulations. His areas of interest are Computer Vision and Generative AI. Guest Highlight: "The average company is not an AI lab. Their job is not to say, 'How do I create a great AI model?' Their job is, how do I use AI to create business value? And I believe that's the core mission of AWS and Confluent to get together and figure out how we make AI accessible to the customer." Chapters: [01:23] Why AI Feels Different [04:07] What Makes AI So Provocative [07:46] Amazon Bedrock AgentCore Explained [09:20] Real-Time Context Engine [11:57] Scaling Multi-Agent Systems [16:01] Where to Run Agents [18:36] Security and Guardrails [26:24] Global GenAI Architecture [29:21] What's Next at AWS Dive Deeper into Data Streaming: EP1—Stream On: Unleashing Innovation With Data Streaming | Life Is But A Stream EP2—Processing Without Pause: Continuous Stream Processing and Apache Flink® | Life Is But A Stream EP3—The Connective Tissue: Shift Left to Turn Data Chaos to Clarity | Life Is But A Stream Get Connected: Connect with Joseph: @thedatagiant Joseph’s LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/thedatagiant Varun’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/varun-jasti-1a21b21b9/ Our Sponsor: Your data shouldn’t be a problem to manage. It should be your superpower. The Confluent data streaming platform transforms organizations with trustworthy, real-time data that seamlessly spans your entire environment and powers innovation across every use case. Create smarter, deploy faster, and maximize efficiency with a true data streaming platform from the pioneers in data streaming. Learn more at confluent.io. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Transcribe →Ep 21 - How Focal Systems Closed the Inventory Gap with Data Streaming
Apr 1400:34:03Tap to summarizeThe average grocery store has 65 to 80% inventory accuracy. One in 10 products is out of stock at any moment. For an industry operating on razor-thin margins and competing against digital-native challengers, that data gap is existential. In this episode, Kevin Johnson, CEO of Focal Systems, sits down with Joseph to explore how his team is using computer vision, data streaming, and stateful stream processing to close that gap at scale. Kevin walks through how Focal moved from brittle, homegrown pipelines to a fully managed streaming platform—unlocking new use cases including virtual store walk, planogram compliance, and real-time theft detection—all without the operational overhead of managing infrastructure. You'll Learn: How Focal Systems uses stateful stream processing with Apache Flink® to convert millions of shelf images into real-time store actions Why homegrown data pipelines fail at scale—and how managed infrastructure freed Focal's engineers to focus on innovation How real-time data unlocked unplanned use cases, from virtual store walk to computer-vision-driven theft detection About the Guest: Kevin Johnson, CEO of Focal Systems, has 30 years of experience successfully starting, growing, and managing businesses domestically and internationally. Particular emphasis on business transformation — changing companies from slow to high growth, money-losing to profitable, industry-lagging to industry-leading, and from founder leadership to professional management. Guest Highlight: "If you built this rickety data pipeline—congratulations. That's your job for the rest of your life is to keep that thing operating. Or would you like to work on this new thing and, you know, maybe something else and value added? And so I think that's where you get full buy-in. That's where you hit the tipping point. It's like, oh wait, I could outsource this and I can go focus on the new. If you can outsource the things that somebody else has done and done really well, and it scales and it's robust, it's an easier decision. If you've got interesting problems to work on, they'll take it, you know?" Chapters: [01:07] Guest Introduction + Focal Systems Overview [10:19] Segment 1: Data Streaming Goodness [16:08] Segment 2: Beyond the Stream [25:56] Segment 3: Quick Bytes [31:38] Segment 4: Joseph’s Top Takeaways Dive Deeper into Data Streaming: EP1—Stream On: Unleashing Innovation With Data Streaming | Life Is But A Stream EP2—Processing Without Pause: Continuous Stream Processing and Apache Flink® | Life Is But A Stream EP3—The Connective Tissue: Shift Left to Turn Data Chaos to Clarity | Life Is But A Stream Get Connected: Connect with Joseph: @thedatagiant Joseph’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thedatagiant Kevin’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kevinhjohnson Resources: Learn more about Focal Systems: https://focal.systems/ Learn more at Confluent.io Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Transcribe →Ep 20 - One Solution, Infinite Value: How SecurityScorecard Put Confluent at the Center of Everything
Mar 3100:48:12Tap to summarizeWhat happens when a security intelligence company decides that data contracts aren't optional, they're the foundation? For SecurityScorecard, that decision changed everything: how teams share data, how pipelines are built, and how quickly a new engineer can ship production-grade work on day one. In this episode, Brandon Brown, Senior Engineering Manager, and Manan Monga, Senior Software Engineer at SecurityScorecard, join host Joseph Morais to walk through their multi-year journey from batch snapshots and MSK to a fully schema-governed, event-driven platform on Confluent Cloud. They cover how Protobuf and Schema Registry became the organization's shared language for data, how Apache Flink® pipelines now power real-time CVE enrichment across 12 Kafka topics, and how Kafka became the undisputed single source of truth for data across teams. You'll Learn: How SecurityScorecard used schema-first design and Protobuf to eliminate downstream data drift and reduce processing time from days to near real-time Why shifting data logic left—into Kafka and Flink—freed downstream consumers from replicating brittle query logic and reduced cross-team dependencies How Confluent Cloud's managed infrastructure, Terraform provider, and Schema Registry gave a lean engineering team the operational leverage to focus on product, not plumbing About the Guests: Brandon Brown, Senior Engineering Manager Engineer, Scoring SecurityScorecard – Brandon Brown is a Senior Engineering Manager at SecurityScorecard where he leads the team who provide the scores at the core of our ratings platform. These scores guide cybersecurity leaders worldwide in reducing their risk and addressing risk in their vendors. His team also drives secure data sharing and advances company-wide adoption of streaming technologies. With 10+ years of experience in software development, Brandon has experience across the full SDLC specializing in Data Pipelines over the last 8+ years. His language of choice is Scala but he has a soft spot for SQL. He’s contributed to top open source projects such as Debezium and was an early contributor to the ZIO ecosystem. He’s passionate about Kafka and Hybrid Data Pipeline strategies. Outside of work he’s helping raise his young son and catching live music or talking about movies.Manan Monga is Senior Software Engineer at SecurityScorecard, building real-time pipelines that stream threat intelligence into the SCDR platform. With experience in SIEM, cloud security, and distributed systems, along with an MS in Computer Science and Cybersecurity from Boston University, he's passionate about performant data at scale. Java is his go-to, but Kafka has his heart. When he's not optimizing pipelines, he's reading sci-fi, cooking, or out cruising in his convertible. Guest Highlight: "It was like a weekend to process one day, and that was if the Scala service didn't die while it was running… friends don't let friends ignore schemas. Schemas all the way down." — Brandon Brown, SecurityScorecard Chapters: [00:50] Guest Introduction + SecurityScoreCard Overview [07:00] Segment 1: Data Streaming Goodness [23:20] Segment 2: Beyond the Stream [42:40] Segment 3: Quick Bytes [45:20] Segment 4: Joseph’s Top Takeaways Dive Deeper into Data Streaming: EP1—Stream On: Unleashing Innovation With Data Streaming | Life Is But A Stream EP2—Processing Without Pause: Continuous Stream Processing and Apache Flink® | Life Is But A Stream EP3—The Connective Tissue: Shift Left to Turn Data Chaos to Clarity | Life Is But A Stream Links & Resources: Connect with Joseph: @thedatagiant Joseph’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thedatagiant Brandon’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandon-brown-8529681b/ Manan’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/manan-monga/ The Ultimate Data Streaming Guide - Second Edition: https://www.confluent.io/resources/ebook/streaming-use-case-guide/?utm_campaign=tm.fm-ww_cd.2026-usecase-book-podcast-nbas&utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=podcast Our Sponsor: Your data shouldn’t be a problem to manage. It should be your superpower. The Confluent data streaming platform transforms organizations with trustworthy, real-time data that seamlessly spans your entire environment and powers innovation across every use case. Create smarter, deploy faster, and maximize efficiency with a true data streaming platform from the pioneers in data streaming. Learn more at confluent.io. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Transcribe →Ep 19 - How CARIAD Powers Software-Defined Vehicles with Real-Time Data Streaming
Mar 1700:54:25Tap to summarize45 million vehicles, 90 markets, 12+ iconic brands, each with its own data silos, standards, and infrastructures. In this episode, Chetan Alatagi, Solution Architect reveals how they transitioned from fragmented legacy ETL silos to a Unified Data Ecosystem—a global data streaming highway that turns vehicle telemetry into real-time value. Chetan joins Joseph to go under the hood of a multi-region, multi-cloud architecture powered by Apache Kafka® and Confluent Cloud that ingests petabytes of vehicle telemetry, enforces data governance from edge to cloud, and powers mission-critical use cases like real-time emergency services, friction data alerts, and automated compliance across the entire Volkswagen Group. You'll Learn: How CARIAD ingests, governs, and distributes vehicle data at petabyte scale across a multi-cloud, multi-region architecture Why Apache Flink® was the best option for stateful processing and how CARIAD balances Confluent Cloud for Apache Flink with self-managed clusters to achieve global flexibility and meet regional regulatory requirements How CARIAD migrated multiple brands onto a unified event highway with near-zero data loss through Schema Registry and backward compatibility Whether you’re battling Apache Kafka operational overhead or building a global data mesh, this episode is a blueprint for large-scale platform modernization and real-time fleet analytics. About the Guest: Chetan Alatagi is a Solution Architect in Solution Management at CARIAD, the automotive software company of the Volkswagen Group. He works within CARIAD's Connecting Cloud division on the Data and AI Platform, where his team is focused on unleashing vehicle data through a Unified Data Ecosystem that powers connected, intelligent experiences for brands across the VW Group portfolio. He is a certified SAFe 5 Architect. Guest Highlight: "We chose a neutral event highway and migrated brand by brand, easing integration with simple configuration and easy onboarding. We upheld security standards, delivered on time, and enabled a switch with almost no data loss." – Chetan Alatagi Episode Timestamps: [00:47] Guest Introduction + CARIAD Overview [06:10] Segment 1: Data Streaming Goodness [19:52] Segment 2: Beyond the Stream [43:36] Segment 3: Quick Bytes [51:00] Segment 4: Joseph’s Top Takeaways Dive Deeper into Data Streaming: EP1—Stream On: Unleashing Innovation With Data Streaming | Life Is But A Stream EP2—Processing Without Pause: Continuous Stream Processing and Apache Flink® | Life Is But A Stream EP3—The Connective Tissue: Shift Left to Turn Data Chaos to Clarity | Life Is But A Stream Links & Resources: Connect with Joseph: @thedatagiant Joseph’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thedatagiant Chetan’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/chetan-alatagi-14646316/ The Ultimate Data Streaming Guide - Second Edition: https://www.confluent.io/resources/ebook/streaming-use-case-guide/?utm_campaign=tm.fm-ww_cd.2026-usecase-book-podcast-nbas&utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=podcast Try Confluent Cloud: https://www.confluent.io/confluent-cloud/tryfree/?utm_source=simplecast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_id=tm.content_life-is-but-a-stream-cariad Learn more at Confluent.io https://www.confluent.io/life-is-but-a-stream-show/?utm_source=simplecast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_id=tm.content_life-is-but-a-stream-cariad Our Sponsor: Your data shouldn’t be a problem to manage. It should be your superpower. The Confluent data streaming platform transforms organizations with trustworthy, real-time data that seamlessly spans your entire environment and powers innovation across every use case. Create smarter, deploy faster, and maximize efficiency with a true data streaming platform from the pioneers in data streaming. Learn more at confluent.io. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Transcribe →Ep 18 - Building a Central Nervous System: Why Busie Put Real-Time Data at Its Core
Feb 1000:48:31Tap to summarizeHow is it possible to order groceries to your doorstep in seconds, yet still have to fax a signed contract and deliver a physical check to book a bus? For Busie, the answer wasn’t just building a marketplace, it was building the underlying infrastructure from the ground up. By adopting a central nervous system approach to data, their lean engineering team has modernized a legacy industry, replacing manual workflows with real-time ecommerce and automated operations. In this episode, our host, Joseph, sits down with Brady Perry, Co-founder and CTO of Busie, to discuss the transformation from point-to-point REST APIs to fully decoupled, event-driven architecture. Brady shares the pragmatic “buy vs. build” logic that allowed them to offload Kafka management to Confluent Cloud, freeing his team to focus on solving customer pain points rather than managing infrastructure. You’ll Learn:How event-driven architecture enables loose coupling and always-on systemsWhy data streaming became the architectural centerpiece for a lean engineering teamWhy a small startup team chose managed Kafka to accelerate delivery and shift focus from ops to valueAbout the Guest:Brady Perry is the Co-Founder & CTO at Busie, and is a technology entrepreneur focused on solving outdated problems with modern software solutions. A self-taught software developer, Brady brings hands-on experience across TypeScript, JavaScript, React, Python, Django, HTML, and CSS, along with expertise in multiple PLC scripting languages. His background spans both software and operational systems, giving him a practical perspective on building scalable, real-world platforms.Guest Highlight:“Data streaming has actually become sort of the centerpiece of the architecture that we’ve built… the stream becomes the API. That’s where the definition is. That’s where the contract is.”Episode Timestamps: 07:20 – Data Streaming Goodness19:30 – Beyond the Stream 39:30 – Quick Bytes45:15 – Joseph’s Top TakeawaysDive Deeper into Data Streaming:EP1—Stream On: Unleashing Innovation With Data Streaming | Life Is But A StreamEP2—Processing Without Pause: Continuous Stream Processing and Apache Flink® | Life Is But A StreamEP3—The Connective Tissue: Shift Left to Turn Data Chaos to Clarity | Life Is But A StreamLinks & Resources:Connect with Joseph: @thedatagiantJoseph’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thedatagiantBrady’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/brady-perryBuilding a Charter Platform From the Ground Up:https://www.confluent.io/blog/busie-building-a-charter-platform/?utm_source=simplecast&utm_medium=podcast&utm_id=tm.content_life-is-but-a-stream-busieLearn more at Confluent.ioOur Sponsor: Your data shouldn’t be a problem to manage. It should be your superpower. The Confluent data streaming platform transforms organizations with trustworthy, real-time data that seamlessly spans your entire environment and powers innovation across every use case. Create smarter, deploy faster, and maximize efficiency with a true data streaming platform from the pioneers in data streaming. Learn more at confluent.io. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Transcribe →Ep 17 - 2026 Predictions: What's Next for Data Streaming and AI
Jan 2701:10:35Tap to summarizeAI isn’t just evolving—it’s reshaping who your customers are, how systems operate, and what real time really means. From machines making purchase decisions to agents increasing query volume across databases, the realities of 2026 are forcing leaders to rethink data architecture and governance strategies at a fundamental level. In this episode, Joseph is joined by Will LaForest (Field CTO, Confluent), Adi Polak (Director of Developer Advocacy & Experience, Confluent), and independent analyst, Sanjeev Mohan, to break down critical insights from Confluent’s 2026 Predictions Report. Together, they explore how agentic AI will transform digital commerce, why Model Context Protocol is quickly becoming table stakes, and how context engineering is emerging as the next major unlock for AI systems. The conversation also dives into the acceleration of AI-enabled cybercrime, why enterprises can no longer dismiss data governance, how Apache Iceberg™ is quickly becoming the standard in cold data management, and much more.If you’re navigating AI and data streaming, this episode offers a grounded, opinionated take on what’s coming next—and how technologies like Apache Kafka® and Apache Flink® will shape what you need to do now. About the Guests:Will LaForestWill is Field CTO for Confluent. Will works with customers across a broad spectrum of industries and government, enabling them to realize the benefits of a data in motion architecture with event streaming. He is passionate about data technology innovation and has spent 26 years helping customers wrangle data at massive scale. His technical career spans diverse areas from software engineering, NoSQL, data science, cloud computing, machine learning, and building statistical visualization software but began with code slinging at DARPA as a teenager. Will holds degrees in mathematics and physics from the University of Virginia. Adi PolakAdi is the Director of Advocacy and Developer Experience Engineering at Confluent. For most of her professional life, she has worked with data and machine learning for operations and analytics. As a data practitioner, she developed algorithms to solve real-world problems using machine learning techniques and expertise in Apache Spark, Kafka, HDFS, and distributed large-scale systems.Adi has taught how to scale machine learning systems to thousands of practitioners, and is the author of successful books: Scaling Machine Learning with Spark and High Performance Spark 2nd Edition.Sanjeev MohanSanjeev is a recognized thought leader in cloud technologies, modern data architectures, analytics, and artificial intelligence. With a keen focus on emerging trends and technologies, Sanjeev hosts It Depends podcast and authors regular Medium blogs. He is also the author of Data Product for Dummies.Formerly a Vice President at Gartner, Sanjeev was renowned for his in-depth research and strategic insights, shaping the research agenda for data and analytics globally. Over the past three years, he has led SanjMo, a consultancy specializing in technical advisory services that elevate category and brand awareness for clients.Guest Highlights:“There was already an asymmetric relationship between attackers and defenders. This just increases that, because it’s easier to use AI to attack than it is to use it to defend.” — Will LaForest“We’re about to accidentally DDoS our software and databases, because we’re giving a tool to automate things without thinking if our systems are actually ready for it.” — Adi Polak“Your proprietary data is your only moat. Everything else—models, performance, tooling—will keep changing.” — Sanjeev MohanEpisode Timestamps: 03:40 – Predictions Report Overview05:05 – Prediction 1: The Rise of Agentic Commerce: Machines Are Your New Customers12:45 – Prediction 2: Leading Platforms Will Offer Model Context Protocol18:00 – Prediction 3: Context Engineering Is the Next AI Unlock24:15 – Prediction 4: AI Will Apply Increased Pressure to Existing Databases30:10 – Prediction 5: AI Will Drive Cyber Crime to Unprecedented Levels36:15 – Prediction 6: AI Will Accelerate Enterprise Investment in Data Governance43:25 – Prediction 7: Apache Iceberg™ Will Become the Standard for Cost-Effective Cold Data Management49:20 – Prediction 8: Your AI Strategy Will Need an Independent Data Plane to Avoid Overcommitting55:00 – Prediction 9: Early Adopters of Durable Execution Engines Will Gain a Competitive AI Edge1:00:01 – Prediction 10: Improvements in Generative AI Will Help Businesses Finally Address Legacy Tech DebtDive Deeper into Data Streaming:EP1—Stream On: Unleashing Innovation With Data Streaming | Life Is But A StreamEP2—Processing Without Pause: Continuous Stream Processing and Apache Flink® | Life Is But A StreamEP3—The Connective Tissue: Shift Left to Turn Data Chaos to Clarity | Life Is But A StreamLinks & Resources:Confluent’s 2026 Predictions Report: [link here]Connect with Joseph: @thedatagiantJoseph’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thedatagiantWill’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/willlaforestAdi’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/polak-adiSanjeev’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/sanjmoListen to Podcast: https://pod.link/1792991234Learn more at Confluent.ioOur Sponsor: Your data shouldn’t be a problem to manage. It should be your superpower. The Confluent data streaming platform transforms organizations with trustworthy, real-time data that seamlessly spans your entire environment and powers innovation across every use case. Create smarter, deploy faster, and maximize efficiency with a true data streaming platform from the pioneers in data streaming. Learn more at confluent.io. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Transcribe →Ep 16 - Infinite Scale, No Outages: How MarketAxess Modernized Trading Infrastructure With Confluent
Jan 1300:46:28Tap to summarizeLegacy systems don’t have to hold you back. In high-volume markets where milliseconds matter, MarketAxess—an electronic trading platform for institutional investors—needed a way to scale trade data reliably across on-prem systems and the cloud. That journey—from self-managed Apache Kafka® to MSK to Confluent Cloud—reshaped how their engineering teams build, scale, and govern real-time infrastructure.In this episode, Andy Steinmann, Software Engineering Manager at MarketAxess, breaks down how his team evolved from a monolithic, socket-driven architecture to a streaming-first platform. He shares why Kafka became the foundation of their 2.0 strategy, how Confluent Cloud eliminated operational drag during peak trading windows, and what it takes to modernize without disrupting a mission-critical financial ecosystem. You’ll learn:How MarketAxess scaled real-time trade flows across on-prem and the cloudHow Confluent Cloud eliminated outages and operational bottlenecksHow to approach modernization through iterative “2.0” patterns and dark deploymentsIf you’re ready to explore hybrid connectivity, governance, performance tuning, and the operational realities of scaling market-data workloads, this is the episode for you.About the Guest:Andy Steinmann, Software Engineering Manager at MarketAxess, is a seasoned software engineer with 20+ years of experience in web, mobile, and backend technologies delivering proven solutions to thousands of users. Andy has been the technical lead/architect on many teams and participated in implementing and adapting agile methodologies to improve productivity.Guest Highlights:“One of the big benefits of the partnership with Confluent has not only been the zero cluster outages—but the bigger side of it was really the access to the experts… Somebody to walk that journey with you as opposed to just starting with a Google search or a ChatGPT question.”Episode Timestamps: 3:20 – Data Streaming Goodness20:20 – Beyond the Stream 36:15 – Quick Bytes43:15 – Joseph’s Top TakeawaysDive Deeper into Data Streaming:EP1—Stream On: Unleashing Innovation With Data Streaming | Life Is But A StreamEP2—Processing Without Pause: Continuous Stream Processing and Apache Flink® | Life Is But A StreamEP3—The Connective Tissue: Shift Left to Turn Data Chaos to Clarity | Life Is But A StreamLinks & Resources:Connect with Joseph: @thedatagiantJoseph’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thedatagiantLearn more at Confluent.ioOur Sponsor: Your data shouldn’t be a problem to manage. It should be your superpower. The Confluent data streaming platform transforms organizations with trustworthy, real-time data that seamlessly spans your entire environment and powers innovation across every use case. Create smarter, deploy faster, and maximize efficiency with a true data streaming platform from the pioneers in data streaming. Learn more at confluent.io. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Transcribe →Best of 2025: Everything You Missed in 15 Minutes
Dec 1600:18:13Tap to summarizeIn 2025, real-time data moved from important to mission-critical. From billion-event pipelines to AI agents reasoning over fresh data streams, the conversations this year revealed just how fast organizations are rethinking their data infrastructure and what’s possible when data streaming becomes the foundation.In this episode, Joseph Morais curates standout moments from the year: the stakes of real-time data, the architectural decisions behind enterprise-grade streaming, and how AI strategy is shifting toward agentic, event-driven systems. You’ll hear leaders discuss architectures designed for zero data loss, solid governance, multi-agent orchestration, and why organizations choose Confluent as the data streaming platform for data streaming at scale.You’ll learn:How enterprises use Apache Kafka® and Apache Flink® to meet mission-critical guarantees like reliability and data integrityWhy real-time pipelines matter for agentic AI and fresh-signal reasoningWhat leaders evaluate when choosing a data streaming platformHow to prepare architectures for multi-agent systems and 2026 AI roadmapsThe Guests:Cosmo Wolfe, CTO, Metronome Chris Kapp, Software Architect, HS1 (Henry Schein One)Alex Haugland , Cursor Engineer, AnysphereSteffen Hoellinger, Co-Founder & CEO, AiryEthan Chan, Co-Founder & CEO, AlliumJoe Pardi, Sr. Director of Global Data Engineering, CovetrusRami Al Lolah, Lead Architect - Integration Center of Excellence, SwedbankSean Falconer, Sr. Director, Product Management - AI Strategy, ConfluentJeffrey Jonathan Jennings (J3), Founder, signalRoomTodd Smitala, Lead Engineer, Association of Professional Flight AttendantsGuest Highlights: “We are processing events on a second-level latency end-to-end… it'll show up on your end customer's invoice in sub-seconds, and you're cutting users off for fraud, all done exactly once.” — Cosmo Wolfe, Metronome“Security loves us, right? Because everything is immutable. We know who did everything and we know who can access what and who has been accessing what.” — Chris Kapp, HS1 (Henry Schein One) “These are not dashboards… If you want to transform your business and take a proactive approach, reacting to signals as they’re happening, you need to shift your mindset and move data responsibilities left.” — Sean Falconer, ConfluentEpisode Timestamps: *(00:00) - Looking Back at Data Streaming in 2025*(00:38) - Segment 1: Unique Streaming Use Cases*(06:05) - Segment 2: The Power of Partnerships *(11:23) - Segment 3: Data Streaming and Real-Time AIDive Deeper into Data Streaming:EP1—Stream On: Unleashing Innovation with Data Streaming | Life Is But A StreamEP2—Processing Without Pause: Continuous Stream Processing and Apache Flink® | Life Is But A StreamEP3—The Connective Tissue: Shift Left to turn Data Chaos to Clarity | Life Is But A StreamLinks & Resources:Connect with Joseph: @thedatagiantJoseph’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thedatagiantLearn more at Confluent.ioOur Sponsor: Your data shouldn’t be a problem to manage. It should be your superpower. The Confluent data streaming platform transforms organizations with trustworthy, real-time data that seamlessly spans your entire environment and powers innovation across every use case. Create smarter, deploy faster, and maximize efficiency with a true data streaming platform from the pioneers in data streaming. Learn more at confluent.io. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Transcribe →Ep 15 - Inside Saudi Arabia's Real-Time AI Evolution
Dec 200:33:25Tap to summarizeSaudi Arabia is rapidly emerging as a global AI powerhouse, a transformation fueled by a fundamental shift in how data is managed, processed, and activated. Mohamed Ahmed Anwar, General Manager of Presales at (sccc by stc) Saudi Cloud Computing Company, explains why they adopted Confluent’s data streaming platform: cyber resilience and security, strong governance, and scalability paired with simplified operations at enterprise scale. Anwar unpacks why data streaming is foundational to modern AI, from launching model-as-a-service offerings to enabling agentic architectures. He highlights how sccc by stcs strategic partnership with Confluent delivers value extending far beyond open source Apache Kafka®, including connectors, governance with schemas, Kubernetes-based deployment, self-balancing clusters, and Cluster Linking that make enterprise operations tractable without an “army of engineers”.You’ll Learn:How sccc by stc uses Confluent to deliver a managed data streaming platform that powers AI use cases while maintaining performance, security, and control across public and private sectors Why data governance, local compliance, and operational scalability are are critical within Saudi ArabiaWhat makes real-time platforms indispensable for enhanced customer experience and operational agilityHow data streaming transforms traditional batch into dynamic, scalable AI architectures (e.g., RAG and agentic systems) by ensuring fresh, trustworthy data About the Guest:Mohamed Ahmed Anwar is a seasoned technology leader with over 18 years of experience driving innovation across the IT industry. He has held leadership roles at global tech giants including Microsoft, Dell Technologies, and Pure Storage, where he led complex digital transformation initiatives with a focus on delivering business impact. Currently, he serves as the General Manager of Presales at sccc by stc, where he drives strategic efforts to empower Saudi organizations through advanced cloud services, accelerating their growth and digital modernization.Throughout his career, Anwar has led initiatives in data analytics, cloud adoption, and artificial intelligence, enabling organizations to harness the power of emerging technologies. His passion for mentorship and team development is reflected in his dedication to nurturing talent and building resilient, future-ready teams. Anwar is driven by a belief in the transformative potential of technology, consistently working to bridge strategic vision with practical execution to deliver meaningful, lasting impact. Guest Highlight: “Batch computing is like getting your water from a water well. You have a bucket and are governed by the size of the bucket and by the speed and the strength in your arms while in the data stream. On a streaming platform, you have a stream of data. You govern it. You know how exactly you will direct this stream of data, how you will store it and so on. This actually affected the time-to-value for our customers.”Episode Timestamps:1:00 — Guest introduction & company overview5:55 — Segment 1: Data Streaming Goodness14:05 — Segment 2: Beyond the Stream26:50 — Segment 3: Quick Bytes30:15 — Joseph’s Top TakeawaysDive Deeper into Data Streaming:EP1—Stream On: Unleashing Innovation with Data StreamingEP2—Processing Without Pause: Continuous Stream Processing and Apache Flink®EP3—The Connective Tissue: Shift Left to turn Data Chaos to ClarityLinks & Resources:Connect with Joseph: @thedatagiantsccc by stc: https://www.youtube.com/@sccc_bystc/videosJoseph’s LinkedInAnwar’s LinkedInLearn more at Confluent.ioOur Sponsor: Your data shouldn’t be a problem to manage. It should be your superpower. The Confluent data streaming platform transforms organizations with trustworthy, real-time data that seamlessly spans your entire environment and powers innovation across every use case. Create smarter, deploy faster, and maximize efficiency with a true data streaming platform from the pioneers in data streaming. Learn more at confluent.io. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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