​The OSA Community is proud to host the Open Lakehouse and AI event in New York!

​As real-time databases integrate more closely with data lakes to reduce storage costs and unlock data for AI and advanced analytics, data infrastructure is evolving fast. Join us to hear from leading experts as they share practical solutions and lessons learned in building open, scalable, and high-performance data platforms.

​Speakers

• ​Robert Hodges, CEO @ Altinity

• ​Ron Kapoor, Developer Advocate @ CelerData

• ​Sarah Zinger, Staff Software Engineer @ Grafana

• ​Alex Merced, Head of DevRel @ Dremio

​Agenda

• ​5:30 pm - Networking

• ​6:00 - 8:00 pm - Talks

• ​8:00 - 9:00 pm - Networking

​​​Description of the Talks

​​​​Building a Foundation for AI with ClickHouse® and Apache Iceberg Storage

​Speaker: Robert Hodges, CEO @ Altinity

​Abstract: ​​​AI applications need data. Lots of it. Altinity's Project Antalya is adapting open source ClickHouse® to introduce separation of compute and storage on shared Iceberg table data. The result: fast, cheap, flexible query that extends the life of real-time analytic applications and lays the foundation for handling new AI use cases on the same datasets. We cover architecture, performance results, roadmap, and how to get started yourself.  

​

​Visualizing Your Data Lake with Grafana

​Speaker: Sarah Zinger, Staff Software Engineer @ Grafana

​Abstract: In this brief talk, we’ll walk through how to get started with Grafana’s open source platform to explore and understand your data lake. We’ll cover how to connect to your data—no matter where it lives—then craft queries that turn raw information into clear, compelling visualizations, and finally set up alerts and annotations so you’re always in the know when something important changes in your data lake.

​

​Data Lakehouses, Query Federation, and Data Virtualization for AI

​Speaker: Alex Merced, Head of DevRel @ Dremio

​Abstract: Projects move fast, and they slow down when data sits in silos. Teams need quick access to current data, and they need a way to read it without complex pipelines. A lakehouse gives you one place to store and manage data with strong governance. Query federation lets you reach data that still lives in other systems. Data virtualization presents all of it as one logical layer.

​This talk explains how these three ideas work together to create a unified view of your data. You learn why this matters for model training, feature work, and agent workflows. You also see how a unified layer cuts friction, shortens planning cycles, and reduces the cost of moving data. The session offers clear guidance on when to store data in the lakehouse, when to federate, and how to use virtualization to keep access simple and fast.

​

​CelerData talk coming soon!

​Speakers

​Robert Hodges: Robert is the CEO of Altinity, an enterprise provider of ClickHouse data warehouse. He's also a database geek with experience on at least 20 DBMS types. Robert caught the Kubernetes bug at VMware in 2018.

​Sarah Zinger: Sarah joined Grafana Labs in 2021 as a full-stack developer, where she works to support, improve, and expand Grafana’s large catalogue of datasource plugins. A lifelong New Yorker, she’s been involved in NYC's tech community for the past 10 years, and is a former Director of Women Who Code NYC. In her spare time, she obsesses over her dog, Louie, who is a treasure to observe and impossible to monitor.

​Alex Merced: Alex is Head of DevRel for Dremio and co-author of "Apache Iceberg: The definitive guide" from O'Reilly and has worked as a developer and instructor for companies like GenEd Systems, Crossfield Digital, CampusGuard, and General Assembly.
Alex is passionate about technology and has put out tech content on outlets such as blogs, videos, and his podcasts Datanation and Web Dev 101. Alex Merced has contributed a variety of libraries in the JavaScript & Python worlds including SencilloDB, CoquitoJS, dremio-simple-query, and more.