The AI Forecast: Data and AI in the Cloud Era

The AI Forecast welcomes back John Santaferraro, host of The Digital Analyst Podcast and CEO of Ferraro Consulting, for a candid  look at what’s really coming next for AI in 2026. John argues that despite nonstop headlines, most organizations are still dabbling with AI, not truly using the technology. He predicts that 2026 will be defined by AI literacy, strategic adoption, and a shift away from t...

In this episode of The AI Forecast, Anu Jain, founder and CEO of Nexus Cognitive, joins host Paul Muller to introduce a transformative idea: AI doesn’t have a last-mile problem. It has a first-mile problem. While AI models and algorithms can scale instantly through the cloud, their success still depends on the quality, provenance, and readiness of the data that feeds them. Drawing from his career...

Cloudera Chief Marketing Officer Mary Wells helped spearhead the launch of Cloudera’s Women Leaders in Technology initiative, which recently celebrated its one-year anniversary. To honor this milestone, Mary joins this special edition of The AI Forecast to reflect on the impact of this program so far. Mary Wells and host Paul Muller embark on an inspiring conversation on leadership, allyship, and...

GenAI may have captured the spotlight. But according to Dr. Jake Trippel, co-founder and CTO of Codename 37, the real disruption is still ahead. Jake joins the podcast to explain why today’s LLM-centric stacks will hit architectural limits and how “AI fabrics” and shared memory meshes can unlock agent-to-agent collaboration across data silos. From untangling decades of technical debt to the surpri...

Turning complex, siloed medical data into accessible, actionable insight isn’t just a technical challenge; it’s a human one.  In this episode of The AI Forecast, Luz Erez, physicist-turned-entrepreneur and CTO of MDClone, explores how synthetic data is transforming the way we use medical information for research, innovation, and patient care. Erez explains how MDClone’s platform manages tens of mi...

Enterprise leaders are racing to deploy generative AI, but most overlook a critical foundation: data readiness. Despite bold ambitions, less than one-third of technology leaders believe their data is prepared to support AI at scale.  Marcela Vairo, IBM’s Vice President of Data and AI for the Americas, joins The AI Forecast to explore one of the most persistent challenges in enterprise AI: why stro...

AI is transforming not only the way we work, but what we value as work. Success in this new era won’t come from chasing efficiency alone, but from cultivating cultures where AI empowers people, strengthens purpose, and drives innovation with trust at the center. In this episode of The AI Forecast, Teddra Burgess, founder of Chasing Outcomes, joins host Paul Muller to explore how AI is reshaping no...

In this episode of The AI Forecast, Tom Harshbarger, Director of Cloud and AI Strategy at Arrow Electronics, joins host Paul Muller to unpack what it really takes to build enterprise AI solutions that deliver value. From navigating an immature market to choosing the right partners, Tom shares hard-earned lessons from decades in the industry on how to start small, experiment intelligently, and scal...

The AI era is redefining what it takes to stay on top. Success won’t come from protecting the status quo, but from embracing the “always day one” mindset—where reinvention, adaptability, and bold experimentation drive progress.  Drawing on Big Tech’s playbook, Alex Kantrowitz, former journalist and now founder of Big Technology, joins host Paul Muller on The AI Forecast to discuss why continuous r...

What does it mean to design AI with humanity at its core? Jess Von Bank—futurist, HR transformation leader, and president of Diverse Daisies—joins The AI Forecast to discuss. With host Paul Muller, the two explore how AI is reshaping the workforce and our very sense of what it means to be human. From AI-driven recruiting and workforce redesign to the mental health crisis and the erosion of human c...

We’re entering a new era of Big Data defined by convergence—where on-premises and cloud systems come together to power trusted, private AI. By integrating AI with modern data architectures, organizations can harness the full value of their information, drive innovation, and enable a new wave of business outcomes in a rapidly evolving digital landscape. In this episode of The AI Forecast, Cloudera...

The future will not be decided by who experiments with AI first, but by who can operationalize it at scale - turning messy, fragmented data into trusted insights, deploying models seamlessly across hybrid environments, and delivering measurable business outcomes. To discuss, we’re joined by Patrick Moorhead, Founder, CEO and Chief Analyst at Moor Insights & Strategy.  He and host Paul Muller e...

Fresh off his keynote at Cloudera’s EVOLVE NYC, futurist and author Mike Walsh returns to The AI Forecast to share bold insights on the rise of AI agents and what they mean for business, culture, and society. In this wide-ranging conversation, Mike explores how AI is evolving from simple automation into a limitless digital workforce, and why the real disruption lies in the second- and third-order...

AI is changing the way businesses operate. But without trust, governance, and accountability, progress stalls.  Ojas Rege, SVP and GM of Privacy and Data Governance at OneTrust, joins The AI Forecast to explore how organizations can balance innovation with responsibility. He and host Paul Muller unpack why AI represents a “new class of risk,” what it means to design privacy and governance into sys...

AI can’t transform businesses if organizations aren’t prepared to embrace it. Christian Lund, Co-Founder of Templafy, joins The AI Forecast to explore thoughtful AI deployment in an organization. He and host Paul Muller dive into the realities of today’s AI landscape—from why over 40% of AI projects are likely to be canceled, to the untapped potential of document workflows as a proving ground for...

As part of our Women Leaders in Technology (WLIT) series on The AI Forecast, we’re joined by Avani Desai, CEO of Schellman, a leading cybersecurity firm. Each quarter, we’ll take a break from the regularly scheduled AI programming on The AI Forecast to direct our attention to this important topic in tech. Avani shares her journey from a curious kid in Orlando who loved to tinker with technology to...

AI can’t transform businesses if organizations aren’t prepared to embrace it.  Donna Beasley, Chief AI Enablement Officer, joins The AI Forecast to explore thoughtful AI deployment in an organization. She and host Paul Muller dive into the challenges and opportunities of AI adoption, from ensuring data quality to driving organizational change management.  They discuss the importance of collaborati...

A city can’t be smart if its systems don’t serve its citizens. Ayesha Khanna, AI advisor, entrepreneur, and CEO of Addo, joins The AI Forecast to explore how AI is reshaping the cities we live in and the lives we lead within them. She and host Paul Muller dive into the intersection of AI and urban development, where infrastructure, governance, and personalization come together to elevate the quali...

When AI needs to think faster, the architecture beneath it matters more than ever. Val Cook, Chief Software Architect at Blaize, joins The AI Forecast to unpack how today’s AI systems demand more than raw compute, but more adaptable infrastructure. He and host Paul Muller explore the critical intersection of hardware and software, the growing importance of data flow machines, and the limits of tra...

When trust collapses, everything else goes with it.  Jim Brennan, Chief Product and Technical Officer at GetReal Security, joins The AI Forecast to break down one of the biggest challenges in today’s world: securing digital trust. He and host Paul Muller explore why trust is the backbone of modern business and how advancements like deepfakes, impersonation attacks, and AI-powered deception are sha...

As AI systems grow more powerful, so does a more profound structural concern: ownership. A handful of players now control the data, infrastructure, and models shaping global AI and, with them, the rules of access, participation, and innovation. Sean Ren, co-founder of Sahara AI, joins The AI Forecast to explore the implications of competition in the AI industry, the necessity of decentralized tech...

Jim Liddle, Chief Innovation Officer of Data Intelligence and AI at Nasuni, joins The AI Forecast to spotlight a critical obstacle to enterprise AI: messy, ungoverned data. He and host Paul Muller trace the evolution of data management and unpack why so many organizations still struggle with the basics, starting with the challenge of taming unstructured information. They explore how the absence of...

In the race of not being left behind in adopting new technology—like AI—enterprises often overlook the most straightforward, strategic question: what decision are we trying to make? Cassie Kozyrkov, first and former Chief Decision Scientist at Google and founder of Kozyr, joins The AI Forecast to reframe the conversation. Her take? It’s not about the genie granting the wish—in this case, AI; it’s...

As the conversation around job loss vs. job evolution heats up, how can we look at the glass half full? Derek Osgood, Founder and CEO of DoubleO and Ignition, joins The AI Forecast to explore how agentic AI is reshaping business workflows and reframing the conversation from replacement to augmentation. As Derek puts it, automation isn’t about erasing opportunity; it’s about redefining it. Tune in...

The next era of business intelligence is here. Traditional dashboards and static reports give way to AI-driven systems built for faster, more informed decision-making. John Santaferraro, CEO and founder of Ferraro Consulting and host of The Digital Analyst podcast, joins The AI Forecast to share how enterprises can modernize BI to unlock real business value. Because in today’s data-rich world, tur...