As AI evolves from answering questions to driving decisions and actions, trust has become the defining factor in business success. In this keynote, John Ainsworth, EVP & GM, Application and Data Platform, explores why organizations need more than powerful models. They need trusted data, governed intelligence and confidence in the outcomes AI produces.
Through the lens of Context, Control and Confidence, John will share a vision for how organizations can transform enterprise information into trusted knowledge, apply governance and accountability to AI-driven processes, and empower people to make faster, better decisions. Attendees will learn why a strong data foundation is essential for AI readiness, how businesses can move from insight to action with greater confidence, and what leaders should consider as AI advances toward greater autonomy.
The session will also offer perspectives on the future of the data and AI landscape, including how the announcement to acquire the Domo AI and Data platform could help organizations connect data, analytics and AI to accelerate business outcomes. Join us to explore how trusted intelligence will shape the next generation of enterprise innovation.
Business Futurist, AI Keynote Speaker and Futurist-in-Residence at Amazon, Jonathan Brill helps audiences and executives take advantage of the collision of AI, geopolitical, economic and societal trends, to transform their business, mindsets, and turn ideas into action to Win the Next Five Years.
AI initiatives often face a tradeoff between accuracy, transparency, and governance. While knowledge models and taxonomies provide trusted business context and explainability, modern AI offers powerful capabilities for classification, matching, and discovery. This session explores how these approaches can be combined to deliver more trustworthy and effective AI systems.
The Progress Data Platform AI Data team will present exploration in three areas: Concordance – An evaluation of entity relationship generation using classical OWL/SKOS knowledge models and Semaphore-style extraction techniques. We will share benchmark results, findings, and lessons learned on creating reliable semantic foundations for AI. Classification – A cross-validation approach that combines client data and OWL/SKOS taxonomies with embeddings and Small Language Models (SLMs) to evaluate how structured knowledge and AI can improve classification quality and confidence. Matching – An exploration of hybrid matching techniques that combine transparent lexical matching with contextual embeddings. By reinforcing semantic search with deterministic validation, we assess how missing concept and entity relationships can be identified while maintaining traceability and trust.
Attendees will gain insight into emerging approaches that blend symbolic AI and modern AI to improve the accuracy, and governance of future enterprise AI solutions.
Planning a MarkLogic 12 upgrade or looking to accelerate your team’s learning? Join Progress Customer Success/Support and Professional Services leaders for an informal roundtable focused on your questions, priorities, and goals on MarkLogic 12 upgrade support, PDP Academy, and available education resources in a small-group, open conversation.
Securing business buy-in remains one of the most important barriers to successful data, AI and knowledge management initiatives. Technical teams often understand the capability, but struggle to express its value in terms that resonate with finance, operations and executive stakeholders. This session provides a practical framework for translating technical investments into business outcomes that can be understood, funded and sustained.
The session will examine how to connect platform capabilities to measurable value, including efficiency gains, improved decision-making, reduced risk, better customer or citizen outcomes and stronger operational resilience. Attendees will learn how to frame ROI in financial and operational terms, link initiatives to key performance and risk indicators, and anticipate the questions stakeholders are likely to raise before approval.
Drawing on field-tested examples, the session will also explore how to build consensus across functions, manage competing priorities and keep business sponsors engaged after initial approval. Participants will leave with a practical approach for turning technology proposals into business-backed programs with clear ownership, measurable impact and long-term adoption.
