The Clearly Podcast

Send a text Welcome to the Clearly Podcast. The podcast is taking a break for a few weeks due to another project, and upon return, there will be exciting news. Today's discussion revisits what it takes to be a Power BI consultant, focusing on the necessary skills and qualities. Experience with Power BI is valuable, but not mandatory for juniors. Key qualities include consulting skills, analyt...

Send a text The podcast discusses the current state of the IT consulting job market, particularly focusing on skills and opportunities in 2024. The conversation highlights the end of the post-COVID job market boom, noting that recruitment has slowed, with hiring managers delaying decisions and tighter budgets. However, there are signs of recovery with an increase in RFPs. The job market trend is s...

Send a text Welcome to the Clearly Podcast. After some light-hearted banter about annual leave and running shoes, the discussion shifts to the main topic: Azure vs. Fabric. The conversation covers the components of Azure and Fabric, focusing on Power BI, Azure Data Factory (ADF), OneLake, and Synapse Analytics. Fabric offers better integration and cost control for users who need multiple component...

Send a text Welcome to the Clearly Podcast, where today's discussion focuses on Power Apps, particularly canvas apps, model-driven apps, and Power Pages, and how to choose the right one. Power Pages are ideal for external, infrequent users due to their pricing model and ability to handle large user bases. In contrast, canvas and model-driven apps are more suited for internal use. Canvas apps...

Send a text In this episode of the Clearly Podcast, the hosts discuss data quality dashboards. These dashboards monitor data entry to flag errors and ensure data accuracy, especially in systems with significant human input. Key points include: Definition and Use: Data quality dashboards highlight data entry errors, allowing for prompt correction. Errors disappear from the report once fixed, provid...

Send a text Hosts: Andy Clark, Tom Gough Guest: Greg Bounds  Topic: Dealing With a Mess of Data Systems and Products Key Points: 1. Introduction: ·      Andy and Tom introduce Greg Bounds, who works as a data architect for a national nonprofit and also consults on data projects. 2. Defining the Problem: ·      The discussion focuses on inheriting a complex data environment, termed a "dog&apos...

Send a text This week, Andy, Tom, and Shailan, discuss the challenges and considerations of working with technologies outside the Microsoft stack from a consulting perspective. Key Points: Encountering Non-Microsoft Technologies : ·      Clients often use various non-Microsoft technologies like Google Analytics, Salesforce, Oracle, etc. ·      Consultants must be prepared to handle data sources an...

Send a text In this episode of the Clearly Podcast, the hosts discuss how to choose a cloud provider. They emphasize starting with the big three providers: Azure, AWS, and Google Cloud Platform, as these offer comprehensive services, long-term stability, and a large pool of skilled professionals. It's generally unrealistic to consider other niche platforms unless you have very specific needs...

Send a text Welcome to the Clearly Podcast. This episode kicks off the new season with a discussion on transitioning organizations away from the Excel mindset. Excel is widely used for storing and managing data, but it’s not a structured tool and can lead to significant challenges in data projects. Excel’s flexibility makes it easy for quick mock-ups and data input, but these solutions often lack...

Send a text In this episode of the Clearly Podcast, we discuss the concept of democratizing data within organizations. The key points covered in the conversation include: Definition and Critique : The term "democratization of data" refers to making data accessible to a wider group within an organization. The hosts critique the term, suggesting it often sounds like marketing jargon meant...

Send a text The podcast discusses the concept of citizen developers and whether they truly exist. Helen Wall, a guest from Houston, joins the conversation. The term "citizen developer" suggests that individuals without formal development training can create applications using low code tools like Power Apps. While this can bridge the gap between business and IT, it often leads to issues l...

Send a text AKA: SharePoint - What is it good for? The podcast discusses SharePoint and its evolution over the years. Initially marketed for various business needs like website building, analytics, and workflow management, SharePoint's current primary focus is on document management. It offers useful features like additional metadata, versioning, and integration with Microsoft OneDrive and Te...

Send a text This episode of the Clearly Podcast features a discussion on how clients can effectively manage their IT consultants. Key points include: Finding the Right Consultant : Clearly define your needs, including the level of expertise required, prior experience, and company culture fit. Engage all relevant stakeholders in defining these needs to avoid common mistakes. Managing Consultants fo...

Send a text 🚀 Navigating the World of Databases 🚀 In the ever-evolving terrain of data management, making informed choices about the right database technology can significantly impact your business operations and strategy. From SQL and Dataverse to Data Lakes and, funnily enough, Excel, each platform serves unique needs and applications.   In our podcast discussing this topic, we embarked on an...

Send a text Utilizing Microsoft Power Platform and Microsoft 365 for Digital Transformation Introduction: The discussion focuses on Power Platform, digital transformation, and the use of Excel as a business app. The goal is to explore real-world examples of using Power Platform and Microsoft 365 technologies to create technical solutions for digital transformation through seven scenarios. 1. Annua...

Send a text The podcast discusses whether Power Platform means Excel is obsolete. The conversation highlights that while Excel is frequently used for data storage, quick calculations, project plans, and Gantt charts, it often creates issues due to its lack of control over input, permissions, and versions. Building proper applications requires skilled coding, but Power Platform, especially Power Ap...

Send a text The podcast discusses New Year's resolutions for data management. One resolution is to improve documentation. Despite being tedious, documentation is crucial because it prevents future issues when changes are needed, especially if the original team is no longer available. Agile methodology is often misunderstood to mean no documentation is needed, but this is not true. For consult...

Send a text Welcome to the Clearly Podcast Christmas Day special! This will be a short episode because we all have holiday festivities to attend. The hosts discuss their ideal "data presents" for Christmas. Shailan would like a data migration and cleansing tool to streamline the process of moving data from on-prem to the cloud, especially for ERP systems. Andy's present is a perfect...

Send a text The podcast discusses the concept of lake houses in data architecture. A lake house integrates a data warehouse with a data lake, providing a more efficient and versatile means of storing and querying data. It follows a Medallion architecture with three layers: bronze for raw data, silver for cleaned and enriched data, and gold for aggregated data suitable for analytics. This structure...

Send a text In this podcast, the consultants discuss the topic of migrating SQL Server to the cloud. They highlight the benefits of cloud migration, such as cost savings and technological advancements, and note that cloud skills are becoming essential in the job market. Despite the prevalence of cloud migration, many organizations still use on-prem SQL, including older versions that are becoming u...

Send a text The podcast discusses the issue of data lakes turning into data swamps due to the uncontrolled dumping of data. While storage is cheap, this can lead to a mess with duplicate and poor-quality data that’s hard to use. Organizations must implement processes to control what data goes into the lake, document where it’s stored, and build a data dictionary. Cleaning up existing data involves...

Send a text The podcast discusses Fabric’s recent move to General Availability (GA) following its announcement at Microsoft Ignite. GA status means Fabric is now a fully released product, ensuring stability and predictability for production use. The discussion then moves to pricing, detailing the different SKUs ranging from F2 to F2048. Prices vary by region, with significant savings available for...

Send a text Avoid Controversial Topics : Steer clear of discussing politics, religion, finance, and sports to prevent conflicts with customers. Set Boundaries : Maintain professional relationships with clients. Avoid romantic entanglements and excessive socializing, such as getting drunk with them. Avoid Criticizing Customer Staff : Stay out of office gossip and politics. Remember, you're an...

Send a text Today's discussion focused on how customers should resource projects with their own people. Often, projects are under-resourced with the expectation that consultants will do all the work, which is not effective for long-term success. Clear communication and proper resource allocation are essential. Clients frequently struggle to balance day-to-day tasks with project commitments. I...

Send a text In this podcast episode, the hosts discuss the complexities of client requirements gathering. They emphasize that understanding and gathering requirements isn't as straightforward as it seems and requires clear communication and documentation. Key points include: Importance of Clear Requirements: Gathering and understanding requirements correctly is crucial to avoid misunderstandi...