What does real transformation look like when the stakes are high? Todd Smitala, Technology Solutions Architect at the Association of Professional Flight Attendants (APFA), shares how his journey of modernizing data system support 27,000 union members.

With the legacy infrastructure crumbling under peak traffic during a high-volume union vote, Todd’s team turned to cloud-based real-time streaming with Apache Kafka® on Confluent Cloud. The result? A more reliable, scalable system that delivered immediate impact, ensuring every vote counted. In this episode, Todd walks through the technical decisions and leadership alignment that made it possible.

You’ll learn:

• How real-time infrastructure solved a high-stakes voting challenge
• What it took to modernize under pressure and bring leadership on board
• How to frame cost, reliability, and system ownership to drive successful change

If you're leading a data streaming initiative and need a blueprint for impact, this episode is for you.

About the Guest:
As a Technology Solutions Architect at APFA, Todd Smitala brings over 10 years of experience as a flight attendant and 20 years in IT, allowing Todd to bridge the gap between technology and the needs of flight attendants. He’s passionate about leveraging technology to create meaningful change, support union members, and enforce contractual legalities. This combination of industry insight and technical expertise empowers Todd to deliver innovations that make a real difference. Outside of work, Todd enjoys scuba diving, adventure travel, hiking, playing music, and dancing at Carnaval in Brazil.

Guest Highlight:
“We all agreed that Confluent Cloud would be the way we want to go because of how it does host. It does really handle all of the background stuff. I'm not a Java developer… We didn't have the time to invest in all of that so Confluent Cloud is actually perfect for this type of thing.”

Episode Timestamps:
*(01:22) - How APFA Is Using Data Streaming to Empower Members
*(20:39) -   The Runbook: Tools & Tactics
*(26:45) -   Data Streaming Street Cred: Improve Data Streaming Adoption
*(28:30) - Quick Bytes
*(33:36) - Joseph’s Top 3 Takeaways

Dive Deeper into Data Streaming:

• EP1—Stream On: Unleashing Innovation with Data Streaming | Life Is But A Stream
• EP2—Processing Without Pause: Continuous Stream Processing and Apache Flink® | Life Is But A Stream
• EP3—The Connective Tissue: Shift Left to turn Data Chaos to Clarity | Life Is But A Stream

Links & Resources:

• Connect with Joseph: @thedatagiant
• Joseph’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thedatagiant
• Todd’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/tsmitala
• Learn more at Confluent.io

Our Sponsor:

Your data shouldn’t be a problem to manage. It should be your superpower. The Confluent data streaming platform transforms organizations with trustworthy, real-time data that seamlessly spans your entire environment and powers innovation across every use case. Create smarter, deploy faster, and maximize efficiency with a true data streaming platform from the pioneers in data streaming. Learn more at confluent.io.

Whether you're an executive setting the strategy or an architect building the backbone, alignment is the key to turning transformation from a buzzword into results. Rick Hernandez, principal technical architect at EY, shares how to unlock shared vision and turn it into enterprise-wide data streaming success.

In this episode, Rick joins Joseph to explore how organizations can connect leadership ambition with technical execution. Exploring how top-down buy-in, clearly defined objectives, and strategic alignment with the right technology can give your organization “wings to a tiger.”

You’ll learn:

• How to directly map business pain points to streaming-first solutions
• How real-time infrastructure enables faster decisions and a competitive edge
• What happens when stakeholders discover their challenges are already solvable through streaming

If you're leading modernization efforts or championing real-time data, this episode is your guide for building momentum across teams.

About the Guest:
Rick Hernandez is a Principal Technical Architect at EY, specializing in enterprise architecture and digital transformation. He helps organizations implement innovative solutions and optimize IT strategies. Rick’s expertise includes architecture and development in middleware technologies, cloud integration work, business process management, enterprise application integration, and more.

Guest Highlight:
“Technology transformation is not for one area of a company. The overall company needs to actually change to do something better, differently, and more efficiently.”

Episode Timestamps:
*(01:00) - EY’s Data Streaming Strategy
*(05:30) -  Data Streaming Goodness: Having a Shared Vision
*(22:00) -   The Runbook: Tools & Tactics
*(26:45) -   Data Streaming Street Cred: Improve Data Streaming Adoption
*(31:10) - Quick Bytes
*(33:45) - Joseph’s Top 3 Takeaways

Dive Deeper into Data Streaming:

• EP1—Stream On: Unleashing Innovation with Data Streaming | Life Is But A Stream
• EP2—Processing Without Pause: Continuous Stream Processing and Apache Flink® | Life Is But A Stream
• EP3—The Connective Tissue: Shift Left to turn Data Chaos to Clarity | Life Is But A Stream

Links & Resources:

• Connect with Joseph: @thedatagiant
• Joseph’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thedatagiant
• Rick’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rick-hernandez-3298574
• Learn more at Confluent.io

Our Sponsor:

Your data shouldn’t be a problem to manage. It should be your superpower. The Confluent data streaming platform transforms organizations with trustworthy, real-time data that seamlessly spans your entire environment and powers innovation across every use case. Create smarter, deploy faster, and maximize efficiency with a true data streaming platform from the pioneers in data streaming. Learn more at confluent.io.

Want your real-time data streaming initiative to stick? Success hinges on more than pipelines—it’s about people, governance, and business impacts. Jeffrey Johnathon Jennings (J3), managing principal at signalRoom, shares how to bring it all together.

In this episode, J3 shares how he’s used impactful proofs of concepts to demonstrate value early, then scaled effectively through shift left with governance and stronger cross-team collaboration.

You’ll learn about:

• Why proofs of concept are key to securing buy-in and demonstrating ROI early
• How data governance as a shared language create consistency across teams
• Strategies for establishing a data streaming center of excellence
• The role of business outcomes in guiding streaming data adoption strategies

If you’re building or scaling a data streaming practice, this episode goes beyond the technology, showing you how to drive real impact.

About the Guest:
Jeffrey Johnathan Jennings is the managing principal of signalRoom, a dedicated father, avid traveler, and EDM enthusiast whose creativity and energy shape both his personal and professional life. As a cloud-native data streaming expert, he specializes in integrating ML/AI technologies to drive transformative change and improve business outcomes. With a focus on innovation, he designs scalable data architectures that enable real-time insights and smarter decision-making. Committed to continuous learning, Jeffrey stays ahead of technological advancements to help businesses navigate the evolving digital landscape and achieve lasting growth.

Guest Highlight:
“We need to speak the same language. The only way to speak the same language is to have a Schema Registry. I don't think there's an option. You just have to do this. We share a common language and therefore we build common libraries.”

Episode Timestamps:
*(01:13) - J3’s Data Streaming Journey
*(07:07) -  Data Streaming Goodness: Strategies to Demonstrate Value
*(26:38) -   The Runbook: Data Streaming Center of Excellence
*(37:00) -   Data Streaming Street Cred: Improve Data Streaming Adoption
*(42:35) - Quick Bytes
*(45:00) - Joseph’s Top 3 Takeaways

Dive Deeper into Data Streaming:

• EP1—Stream On: Unleashing Innovation with Data Streaming | Life Is But A Stream
• EP2—Processing Without Pause: Continuous Stream Processing and Apache Flink® | Life Is But A Stream
• EP3—The Connective Tissue: Shift Left to turn Data Chaos to Clarity | Life Is But A Stream

Links & Resources:

• Connect with Joseph: @thedatagiant
• Joseph’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/thedatagiant
• J3’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jeffreyjonathanjennings/
• J3’s GitHub: github.com/j3-signalroom
• “Fall in Love with the Problem, Not the Solution” by Uri Levine
• “Ask Your Developer” by Jeff Lawson
• Learn more at Confluent.io

Our Sponsor:
Your data shouldn’t be a problem to manage. It should be your superpower. The Confluent data streaming platform transforms organizations with trustworthy, real-time data that seamlessly spans your entire environment and powers innovation across every use case. Create smarter, deploy faster, and maximize efficiency with a true data streaming platform from the pioneers in data streaming. Learn more at confluent.io.