Semantics Without Silos: AI Finally Solves BI’s Oldest Problem

More from Data-Driven Podcast All episodes →

1. 

   E41 · 14 May 2026 · 33 min

   30 Hours to 90 Seconds: Blue Yonder’s Semantic Layer for Trusted Enterprise AI

   What happens when enterprise AI meets inconsistent metrics, fragmented dashboards, and conflicting business logic? In this episode of the Data-Driven Podcast, AtScale CTO and co-founder Dave Mariani sits down with Brad Lindsey and Jeremy Arendt from Blue Yonder to discuss how Blue Yonder transformed its analytics strategy from disconnected dashboards into a governed semantic layer foundation for AI and enterprise analytics. The conversation explores why semantic layers have become critical in...

2. 

   E40 · 25 Mar 2026 · 32 min

   Semantic Layers, OSI & AI: Why Context Beats Data Access

   What does enterprise AI actually need to succeed: more data access or better context? In this episode of the Data-Driven Podcast, AtScale CTO Dave Mariani sits down with Coginiti CTO Matthew Mullins to unpack one of the most important debates in modern data architecture: access vs. understanding. The conversation explores the rise of the semantic layer, the role of open semantics, and why initiatives like the Open Semantic Interchange (OSI) matter for the future of AI and analytics. Matthew s...

3. 

   E39 · 28 Jan 2026 · 33 min

   AI Needs Context: Semantic Layers, Metadata & Trust in 2026

   In this episode of the AtScale Data-Driven Podcast, Dave Mariani sits down with Juan Sequeda, Principal Researcher at ServiceNow and former Head of the AI Lab at data.world, to explore what’s next for analytics, AI, and trust in 2026. As AI becomes embedded across the enterprise, one issue is emerging as a hard blocker: lack of context. Large Language Models are powerful, but without semantic layers, governed metadata, and shared business definitions, they struggle to produce reliable, explai...

4. 

   E38 · 16 Dec 2025 · 34 min

   How MCP + Semantic Layers Turn LLMs Into Trusted BI Analysts

   Large Language Models (LLMs) are transforming analytics, but only when paired with the right foundation. In this episode, AtScale’s CTO and co-founder Dave Mariani, co-founder Dianne Wood, and product director Petar Staykov show how Model Context Protocol (MCP) and the semantic layer unlock trusted, governed, enterprise-ready AI. You’ll get a full end-to-end walkthrough of Claude using AtScale’s MCP server to: Discover available semantic models via list-models tools Understand metrics, a...

5. 

   S1 · E37 · 10 Dec 2025 · 38 min

   The AI Frontier: Semantic Layers for Autonomous Agents with Jens Kröhnert

   Dave Mariani and Jens Kröhnert explore the "AI Frontier:” how semantic layers enable AI agents to operate autonomously without hallucinations or governance drift. Both veterans of scaling Microsoft BI stacks on Hadoop, they discuss why machines need semantic context even more than humans do. Topics include the AI Frontier operational model from Microsoft Research, automating semantic model development with Oraylis's Datamate tool, and Model Context Protocol (MCP) as universal infrastructure f...