Brooklyn Data at Coalesce 2025: Insights from an Inspiring Week in the dbt Community

As a proud dbt Partner and sponsor, Brooklyn Data was thrilled to join the global analytics-engineering community at Coalesce 2025. Being surrounded by peers and clients who share our passion for data transformation reminded us why this community is so special. It was also an exciting year to attend in person — especially with the announcement of the Fivetran + dbt Labs merger, a milestone that signals a new era of collaboration in the modern data ecosystem.

Reflections and Takeaways from Coalesce 2025

Throughout the week, our team connected with data leaders, partners, and practitioners to explore how the industry is evolving — from the rise of AI-driven workflows to the growing importance of open standards and semantic layers. The conversations, sessions, and community energy all reinforced what we believe at Brooklyn Data: the future of analytics engineering is about building smarter, more connected, and more human-centered data ecosystems.

Here are some of the biggest themes we’re bringing back from the event.

The Modern Data Ecosystem Is Evolving Fast

The energy at Coalesce made one thing clear: the modern data stack is entering a new phase of maturity. As tools consolidate and open standards take center stage, data teams are focusing on interoperability and sustainable architecture rather than just implementation.

“There’s a lot more clarity on what the immediate and medium-term future in the modern data ecosystem looks like.” — David Gelman

The modern data ecosystem is rapidly evolving, and for our clients, that evolution means new opportunities to simplify, integrate, and scale their data capabilities without losing flexibility. We’re seeing a clear shift toward composable, cost-efficient systems that make it easier to adapt as technologies change.

“This next phase of the data ecosystem isn’t about chasing every new tool — it’s about building smart, streamlined foundations that make the right tools work together.” — Ken Rickabaugh

At Brooklyn Data, we’re helping organizations put those foundations in place. Whether it’s adopting open standards, designing interoperable architectures, or ensuring long-term cost efficiency, our focus is on enabling teams to move faster and make better decisions with confidence.

From the Modern Stack to AI-Driven Workflows

As the industry shifts, the conversation isn’t just about data pipelines — it’s about AI enablement and context-aware systems that make insights actionable.

“Fusion is a multi-step-level change for how data practitioners transform data… data work is fundamentally changing.” — Jairus Martinez

“Context as a service is foundational to effectively deploying AI across enterprise data.” — Jeremiah Sinclair

We heard a lot about how dbt Fusion and related innovations are transforming analytics engineering into a platform for intelligent, automated decision-making.

Angela Morgan added that success in this new era hinges on aligning people and metrics:

“The need to prioritize metric alignment and clarity to unlock the value of AI.” — Angela Morgan

For our clients, that means treating AI not as a layer on top of analytics — but as something enabled by clean, governed, and semantically rich data foundations.

Darcy Norman echoed this sentiment:

“AI will only be as effective as the structure and governance of the data that powers it. Fusion gives teams a chance to rethink how they design for trust and reliability.” — Darcy Norman

Community, Collaboration, and the Power of Showing Up

Coalesce has always been more than a conference — it’s a community hub where collaboration drives innovation. Across sessions, hackathons, and hallway conversations, the team was reminded how vibrant and connected this ecosystem has become.

“The breadth of industries and companies present at Coalesce reminded me how large and diverse the community is.” — Alfe Hossain

From open-source tools like dbt_artifacts to deep technical discussions about Fusion and AI, Brooklyn Data’s contributions continue to resonate across the dbt community.

Looking Ahead

Coalesce 2025 made one thing clear: the future of analytics engineering lies in openness, automation, and collaboration. With dbt Fusion and the new Fivetran + dbt Labs partnership, teams have unprecedented opportunities to innovate — and Brooklyn Data is ready to help clients take advantage.

If your organization wants to get more out of dbt — from Fusion adoption to AI-ready data workflows — we’d love to connect.