248: AI and BI: The Future of Data Analytics with Michael Driscoll of Rill Data

The Data Stack Show

This week on The Data Stack Show, Eric and John welcome Michael Driscoll, Co-Founder and CEO of Rill Data. Mike discusses the transformative impact of AI on business intelligence (BI) and data analytics. He also explores the shift from traditional dashboard-based tools to more dynamic, code-driven, and AI-powered interfaces that provide deeper insights. During the conversation, the group emphasizes the importance of a metrics-first approach, the potential of leapfrog architectures using technologies like data lakes and real-time analytical databases, and how AI agents are increasingly becoming the primary users of data tools. The conversation highlights the evolving landscape of data infrastructure, where open standards, flexibility, and intelligent interfaces are reshaping how businesses interact with and understand their data, and more.

Highlights from this week’s conversation include:

• Welcome Back Mike Driscoll (1:11)
• Philosophy Behind BI Tools (2:04)
• Building a Natural Language Processing Server (4:33)
• Deployment of MCP Servers (6:07)
• The Role of Visualizations in BI (10:09)
• Measuring Product Success (12:43)
• Navigating Changes as Data Professionals (16:13)
• Efficiency Gains with Code (19:00)
• The Future of Data Teams (22:29)
• Long-term Use of Rutter Stack (25:16)
• Analytics Landscape Overview (30:59)
• Future of BI Architecture (33:04)
• AI's Role in Analytics (35:07)
• Interoperability and Talent Pool (39:41)
• The Crowded BI Market (42:03)
• Final Thoughts and Takeaways (46:07)

The Data Stack Show is a weekly podcast powered by RudderStack, customer data infrastructure that enables you to deliver real-time customer event data everywhere it’s needed to power smarter decisions and better customer experiences. Each week, we’ll talk to data engineers, analysts, and data scientists about their experience around building and maintaining data infrastructure, delivering data and data products, and driving better outcomes across their businesses with data.

RudderStack helps businesses make the most out of their customer data while ensuring data privacy and security. To learn more about RudderStack visit rudderstack.com.