Article
Set up a simple data pipeline.
Get data out of scattered tools and into one place worth querying.
Why this matters
Most organizations have data in 5–10 SaaS tools that don't talk to each other. Pulling reports means manual exports, copy-paste, and stale snapshots. A simple pipeline (a few scheduled syncs into one warehouse) pays off the first time someone asks a cross-tool question.
What to do
- Pick a warehouse (BigQuery, Snowflake, or Postgres for smaller scale).
- Use a managed ingestion tool (Fivetran, Airbyte) to sync your top 3–5 sources.
- Add a transformation layer (dbt or simple SQL views) for shared definitions.
- Connect a single BI tool on top; start with one.
Common pitfalls
- Don't build pipelines for sources you don't actually report on.
- Don't skip the transformation layer; raw tables are unreadable in six months.
- Don't let everyone write their own metric definitions; nominate an owner.
More Articles
- Make your website AI agent accessible. — Structure your site so language model agents can read, navigate, and act on it.
- Add structured data so AI can cite you. — Use schema.org markup and clean canonical URLs so AI tools surface and quote your work.
- Modernize your payments flow. — Cut friction at checkout with one-click pay, saved cards, and clean fraud handling.
- Get found in local AI search. — Show up when someone asks an AI assistant for a local recommendation.
- Clean your CRM so AI can actually use it. — Garbage data turns AI features into expensive noise. Fix the data first.
- Automate intake with smart forms. — Replace manual triage with forms that route, summarize, and pre-fill.
- Route requests with AI triage. — Get the right ticket to the right person without manual sorting.
- Build dashboards your team will actually use. — Make data visible at the right time, in the right place, to the right person.
- Roll out AI coding assistants without chaos. — Make engineers more productive with Claude Code, Cursor, or Copilot, without breaking review.
- Prototype with AI before committing to a roadmap. — Build a throwaway version in days to validate the idea before quarter-long builds.
