Mid-Year Reality Check: Data Predictions With Mike Palmer

With 2025 more than halfway over, it’s time to test this year’s bold data forecasts—and look ahead to what’s still coming. On this episode of The Data T, Sigma CEO Mike Palmer joins Coalesce co-founders Armon Petrossian and Satish Jayanthi to unpack where data and analytics are really heading in 2025. From rewriting Sigma’s platform on day 30 to calling time on traditional BI “insights,” Palmer explains why the next wave will be AI-powered, end-user apps built on a radically slimmer tool stack—and why data leaders should double the scope of their impact and bet bigger than ever.

Key Topics

• Palmer’s path from Teach For America to Sigma CEO
• Consolidation in the data industry: from 50–100 analytics tools to ~20
• Why “insights” and text-to-SQL won’t democratize data
• AI’s role in merging BI, apps, and workflow automation
• Advice for data professionals

Resources:

• About Coalesce: https://coalesce.io/about/
• Coalesce podcast archive (The Data T): https://coalesce.io/podcast/