Show notes
In 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.