Updated June 23, 2026
Four AI Pillars and a Wide-Open OpportunityI just got back from the Databricks Data & AI Summit, and I have a lot to unpack. This was the biggest DAIS yet, with 31,309 attendees, and the energy was unmistakable. More importantly, Databricks came in with a sharpened…
Updated May 15, 2026
The Semantic Wars Are Here. Google, You’re Next.Microsoft started a semantic war with Databricks. The next front is AI. Google customers need a semantic strategy to stay free on both. Microsoft just killed the connector that let Power BI read Databricks’ business metrics. This was the opening…
Updated May 11, 2026
Snowflake, Databricks, AtScale, and Omni, on the same stage, on purposeThe OSI panel airs at the Semantic Layer Summit. Here's what I'm hoping shakes loose. Snowflake and Databricks don't usually sit at the same table. They compete for the same workloads, the same logos, the same line items in the…
Updated May 4, 2026
Microsoft Held Databricks Customers Hostage. Customers Paid the Ransom. Freedom Ends It.Microsoft made a small, deliberate change to the Power BI connector for Azure Databricks (release notes). The change looks technical, but it's really a move to seize control of the semantic layer, where your company defines what revenue, customer, and…
Updated April 1, 2026
Not All Semantic Layers Are Built for AIThe semantic layer has moved from niche infrastructure to a boardroom priority. Snowflake announced one. Databricks announced one. Google repositioned Looker as one. Microsoft repositioned Power BI as one. This is genuinely good news. As ISG analyst Matt Aslett observed…
Updated March 5, 2026
Autonomous AI Without a Semantic Layer Is Just Expensive GuessingI've been in the BI and data space long enough to recognize when something fundamental shifts. Denny Lee and I first worked together when he was at Microsoft on SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS), and I was a customer building…
Updated May 13, 2025
How AtScale and Databricks Genie Democratize Data Intelligence with AI + a Semantic LayerIn our recent webinar, Democratizing Data Intelligence Across the Supply Chain with a Semantic Layer, I had the pleasure of speaking with Joshua Green, Data and AI Strategist at Databricks, about how our two platforms—AtScale’s Semantic Layer and Databricks Genie—are…
Updated March 10, 2025
Data Intelligence Week: Unlocking AI & BI with AtScale + DatabricksAtScale and Databricks first partnered in early 2022. At the time, Databricks SQL was still gaining traction, and many enterprises relied on various presentation layers for analytics. Our mission was clear: to enable organizations to modernize their analytics stack by…
Updated March 4, 2025
The Semantic Lakehouse for AI/BIKyle Hale, Lead Product Architect with Databricks, coined the term "Semantic Lakehouse" in a 2022 blog. The blog explained how to extend the Lakehouse offering to users at the “top of the stack” leveraging PowerBI. The following year, in a…
Updated March 4, 2025
The AtScale & Databricks partnership: A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away….AtScale and Databricks first started partnering together in early 2022. At the time, Databricks SQL was relatively new, and many of their customers were still leveraging optional presentation layers to support Business Intelligence workloads. The partnership began to gain momentum.…
Updated February 25, 2025
Announcing the Integration of AtScale and Databricks AI/BI Genie: Redefining Natural Language Query AccuracySummary: AtScale now integrates with Databricks Genie, enabling AI-driven natural language querying (NLQ) with governed, business-defined accuracy. Genie enables business users to query data in plain language, while AtScale ensures AI-generated SQL queries align with business definitions. AtScale’s semantic layer…
Updated January 16, 2025
Open-Source Semantic Layer: Crucial for the Future of AI and BIThe fields of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Business Intelligence (BI) are undergoing rapid transformation, driven by advancements in machine learning, large language models (LLMs), and data democratization. Amid this evolution, open-source semantics are emerging as a cornerstone for bridging the…
