About
I have been lucky enough to work for over 14 years in analytics. I started my data career in Moscow as a BI engineer working with traditional Oracle Data Warehouse, Informatica, and SAP Business Objects. Later I joined Teradata. It was a very rewarding experience. I instantly got access to a worldwide knowledge base of leaders in the data warehousing space.
Later, I realized that it would be boring to spend all my life in Moscow so moved to Montenegro and then immigrated to Canada where I joined Amazon where I spent 5 years. I’ve worked in several teams, including Alexa AI (in Boston) and Customer Behaviour Analytics (in Seattle). I participated in genuinely innovative projects where data is the driving force. I’ve witnessed Big Data and Machine Learning in action at the scale of the world’s largest company.
After Amazon, I worked for 3 years at Microsoft Xbox and Microsoft Azure Data&AI. I actively participated in the development and implementation of Microsoft products for analytics - Synapse, Fabric, and Azure Databricks. Now, I help create innovative analytical solutions, build data teams, and modernize outdated solutions. And of course, I teach those interested all over the world. I recently launched a service in English, surfalytics.com (Surf + Analytics), a global counterpart to datalearn (more about it below).
I have written several books on analytics:
- Jumpstart Snowflake: A Step-by-Step Guide to Modern Cloud Analytics
- Azure Data Factory Cookbook: Build and manage ETL and ELT pipelines with Microsoft Azure’s serverless data integration service
- Azure Data Factory Cookbook: Data engineers guide to build and manage ETL and ELT pipelines with data integration, 2nd Edition
- Tableau Desktop Certified Associate: Exam Guide: Develop your Tableau skills and prepare for Tableau certification with tips from industry experts
- Tableau 2019.x Cookbook: Over 115 recipes to build end-to-end analytical solutions using Tableau
- Mastering Business Intelligence with MicroStrategy: Master Business Intelligence with Microstrategy 10
- Learning Hunk
- SAP Lumira Essentials
Since 2021 I have been teaching a Cloud Computing Fundamentals course at the University of Victoria.
I have extensive experience in developing data communities and speaking at conferences, meetups, and user groups. I was leading Snowflake, and Tableau user groups in Vancouver and presented myself across North America at local meetups or biggest data conferences. In 2017 I started a Canadian consulting company Rock Your Data with the goal to help companies adopt cloud analytics and migrate to the cloud. However, I realized that my primary passion is building and teaching.
In 2019 I started free with Roman project datalearn.ru where I was teaching Data Engineering and Analytics professions based in my home country. Around 20 000 people signed up over 3 years and many people landed their 1st job worldwide. I am thankful for the opportunity to share the knowledge that helped to transform other people’s lives.
All of this helps me stay at the forefront of technology and monitor where the analytics industry is heading. I am the founder of the Rock Your Data consulting firm in North America with a focus on modern cloud analytics.