Sneak Peek: Informatica World 2024

In my opinion, one of the best annual conferences for data and analytics (D&A) professionals is Informatica World. I should know, because I’ve been to Informatica World over a dozen times since the 1990s, as both attendee and keynote speaker.

I’m writing this sneak-peek article, so I can encourage you to register and attend this year’s reincarnation of Informatica World, coming up at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, on May 20 through May 23, 2024. I will also offer tips about which sessions to attend and what lessons to learn.

Who should attend Informatica World 2024?

At its foundation, Informatica World is a user conference, put on brilliantly by one of the leading software providers for use cases in D&A. Hence, the conference is a no-brainer for Informatica customers who need to keep up and plan for the future of their Informatica-based D&A solutions.

However, the presentations, demos, and activities at Informatica World go beyond Informatica products and services, to deliver educational and inspirational experiences for a wide range of general best practices and field trends in D&A. Hence, technical professionals and business people who depend on D&A for success in their careers – but are not Informatica customers (yet) – stand to learn a lot, as well.

What can you expect to learn at Informatica World 2024?

Informatica’s Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC) and Its Many Tools

The nail that Informatica has been hammering for decades is the idea that comprehensive data management solutions that incorporate multiple DM techniques (e.g., integration, quality, MDM, metadata, catalogs, DataOps, etc.) are best designed, deployed, and maintained using a single-vendor, multi-tool platform, where the multiple tools are integrated by a common user interface and shared development artifacts (metadata, business rules, profiles, objects, etc.).

So, you should expect Informatica personnel and other speakers to bring you up-to-date on the latest incarnation of that comprehensive and integrated data management platform known as Informatica’s Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC). See Figure One below for a summary of its product architecture. For relevant sessions, look into the breakout track devoted to Product Innovation and Roadmap.

FIGURE ONE: Reference architecture for Informatica’s data management software product platform called Intelligent Data Management Cloud (IDMC). Source: Informatica.com

General D&A Best Practices

As I mentioned earlier, Informatica World includes useful perspectives on numerous general best practices (BPs) and field trends in D&A. Scanning the Informatica World conference agenda, it seems to me that the following BPs will be covered in fair detail:

• Data Architectures and Ecosystems: Expect highlights about how these are evolving to accommodate cloud platforms and new requirements in analytics (especially AI). For relevant sessions, look into the breakout track devoted to Modern Data Architectures.
• Evolutions in Data Engineering: You’ve no doubt noticed recent changes in how we all do data engineering, to achieve greater developer productivity, satisfy new analytic requirements, enable self-service, adopt DataOps methods, and deliver more business-focused data products. For relevant sessions, look into the breakout track devoted to Data Integration and Engineering.
• New Challenges to Governance: User organizations are scrambling to update their data governance programs and processes to keep pace with exploding data sources and volumes, migrations to cloud, and self-service data solutions. In a related trend, users are seeking AI-driven automation for governance, observability, and cataloging. For relevant sessions, look into the product category track devoted to Data Governance and Privacy.
• Miscellaneous Best Practices: More BP topics represented by multiple sessions include master data management, data quality, cataloging, data marketplaces, and business-driven data strategies.

All things AI

Given the current frenzy around artificial intelligence (AI) – whether generative, predictive, or otherwise – you should expect Informatica World to hit AI hard from a data management platform perspective, along with related techniques and products for machine learning (ML) and large language models (LLMs).

Anyone leaving Informatica World (or any vendor-sponsored data conference) should take home the vendor’s current and future strategies in two areas where AI and DM are colliding head-on:

• DM platform’s ability to deliver AI-ready data: The focus here is for the DM platform to continue delivering data that’s appropriate to business requirements and technical standards on a per use case basis, but at the scale, performance, source diversity, and multi-model tolerance that use cases in AI demand.
• AI-driven functionality embedded within DM tools: The point of extending DM tools this way is to provide greater automation and intelligence, which can lift the productivity of data engineers during development processes, plus provide smarter monitoring, automatic data remediation, and quicker reactions in production systems. For relevant sessions, look into the product category track devoted to CLAIRE GPT and CLAIRE copilot.

A Cornucopia of Compelling Conference Content

The Informatica World 2024 conference is jam-packed, including a rich collection of presentations, demos, panels, roundtables, social events, and networking opportunities. Here’s a summary of the four-day agenda and its compelling content:

Monday, May 20: The “preconference” offers you several Summits to pick from, including those focused on Data Architecture (with adjustments for AI), Cloud Modernization (for AI, data integration, MDM, governance), and Vertical Industries (financials, healthcare, education, retail). A Welcome Reception caps off the evening.

Tuesday, May 21: The conference officially kicks off with a detailed keynote from Informatica CEO Amit Walia, assisted by CPO Jitesh Ghai and multiple inspirational speakers. The focus is on the business transformations enabled by AI, plus how data management must modernize (again!) so it can enable AI-driven business goals. The rest of the day is a cornucopia of breakout sessions, roundtables, and deep technology dives, presented by experts from Informatica, partnering vendors, and end-user customer organizations.

Wednesday, May 22: The day begins with a panel of women discussing innovations in data and AI they have fostered. There is also a luncheon for women in data and AI. Don’t miss the fun cameo by actor LeVar Burton, who played Geordi La Forge on TV show Star Trek Next Generation. Most of the day is packed with more expert sessions, roundtables, and demos, concluding with a big party that evening at the Mandalay Bay Beach Club. Fun!

Thursday, May 23: The “after conference” provides even more deep dives and roundtables, showcasing AI and data management skills needed for real-world use cases. The conference concludes around noon.

The Solutions Pavilion: Don’t forget that the vendor exhibits will be open from 10am Tuesday through 3:30pm Vegas time on Wednesday. Plan to spend time there, so you can see product demos and get your product questions answered by exhibitors.

Peer Networking: Informatica World’s Solutions Pavilion, roundtable sessions, evening receptions, and group meals (continental breakfast and lunch) are all opportunities to meet and network with other conference attendees.

For more details about the rich conference content at Informatica World, browse and search the online conference agenda.

Philip’s Faves

Allow me (Philip Russom) to point out my favorite sessions, i.e., the ones I’m looking forward to attending.

All three Keynotes: These lay out Informatica’s recent product advancements, plus plans for future releases and development directions. They also provide broad overviews of the whole data management universe and how AI is changing it. If you’re a data and analytics professional, you need to know all this, whether you’re an Informatica user or not.

Customer Case Studies: I LOVE hearing stories about users designing, building, and maintaining solutions for D&A. So, I’ll be front and center at case studies presentations about solution development at Ericsson (BR7524), Great American Insurance Group (BR7420), Citizens Bank (SP7419), ConocoPhillips (BR7476), and Informatica’s internal IT organization (BR7375). (The codes in parentheses here represent sessions you can look up.)

Many other sessions will mention user firms, such as Tyson Foods (PBR7550); Monash University (BR7485); Nutanix and Yamaha (BR7547); Holiday Inn (BR7214); and Paycor, Hershey and Petmate (BR7546). There will also be a panel discussion with healthcare experts discussing AI adoption (BR7458), plus another panel of users talking about the pivotal role of customer, product or supplier master data (BR7529).

As you can see, Informatica World stresses customer case studies, as a complement to the usual product information you would expect from a user conference.

Special Track for Modern Data Architecture: I will attend as many sessions as I can in this track, because much of my recent and upcoming work involves various kinds of Data Architecture. I expect to hear technical examples of how data management solutions can be deployed and optimized across cloud, hybrid, and on-premises environments.

Note that there are approximately 139 sessions, based on what I see in the online agenda. And they are distributed over four days. This means that no one can attend them all. Hence, you should get organized and create your own list of “faves” before arriving at Informatica World. That way, you won’t miss sessions relevant to you. To organize your faves, peruse the session details online.

Conclusion

There is still time to register for Informatica World 2024, coming up in Las Vegas May 20-23, 2024. I encourage you to register online ASAP. And I hope to see you there!