In this dbt-heavy episode of Keeping Up With Data, Shabbir, Senior Solutions Architect at dbt Labs, joins the show to unpack how dbt is reshaping modern data teams and why it has become one of the most copied tools in the market. He shares his unconventional journey from actuarial studies into data analytics, consulting, Databricks, and now dbt, explaining why pre-sales is the sweet spot between deep technical work and big-picture customer vision.

The conversation dives into what dbt actually does in plain language, why ELT replaced traditional ETL, and where dbt is – and isn’t – the right fit, especially in the batch vs real-time debate. Shabbir also lifts the lid on dbt Fusion, showing how AI plus static analysis can convert legacy stored procedures into production-ready dbt models in minutes, and what the 5Tran–dbt merger means for openness, metadata standards, and avoiding vendor lock-in. If you care about analytics engineering, migration-proof data stacks, or making SQL practitioners massively more productive, this one is for you.

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Host: Seán Gray & Polain Byimira

Guest: Shabbir Khanbha

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