The data debate: From investing in platforms to orchestrating outcomes

The real debate isn’t platforms. It’s strategy vs. orchestration.

Manvir Sandhu framed the discussion simply: the technology is strong across the board, but outcome orchestration is what separates high-performing institutions from the rest. “Databricks, Snowflake, or Data Cloud are all solid products,” he said, “but your data strategy, how you integrate and orchestrate these platforms to outcomes is what drives success.”

The panel agreed that the real differentiator is how quickly and intelligently banks can translate signals into action.

Signals → Insights → Intent → Decisions → Action.

Every investment should be traceable to this chain and to one of three value drivers: growth, loyalty, or efficiency.

Moments that matter beat messages that shout

Customers don’t experience platforms; they experience moments: “I need advice,” “I made a purchase,” “I need something.” The panel underscored that contextual, timely, personal interactions build trust and wallet share, from a banker recognizing a deposit shift during volatility to proactive follow‑up on life events. 

As Laura Sullivan Ethridge noted, the experience standard isn’t being set by banks, it’s being set by everything else. If your institution isn’t using data to deliver relevance, your competitors are. That’s why moments that matter: contextual, timely, personal interactions create real loyalty and wallet share. Personalization isn’t a luxury, it’s an imperative to build trust.

Moving up the data maturity curve, without climbing it in order

For many institutions, data maturity starts reactively: systems built for audit and compliance, not engagement. But the leaders on this panel emphasized that maturity doesn’t have to be linear.

Lighthouse Credit Union, for example, is cleaning legacy data while simultaneously running advanced segmentation and engagement in Salesforce Data 360. “You can operate at multiple levels of maturity at once,” said Jay Gittings. “It’s a culture shift as much as a technical one.”

Golden 1 Credit Union has followed a similar evolution. As Michael Sabado explained, data is no longer viewed as a reporting tool, it’s a growth engine. Governance and infrastructure are now tied directly to measurable business outcomes.

How leading financial institutions are orchestrating outcomes

At Golden 1 Credit Union, a tiered data architecture using Databricks and Azure now allows raw data to be online in under 30 minutes, fueling AI-driven offers and reducing fraud risk. With Salesforce Marketing Cloud and Einstein delivering personalized outreach, the impact shows up across acquisition and service metrics.

Meanwhile, Lighthouse Credit Union took a fast-track approach with Salesforce Data 360, launching live member journeys and real-time dashboards in just five months. The speed of delivery proved immediate ROI and won executive confidence. As Gittings put it, “Value delivered in six months beats a perfect plan in three years.”

Ethridge underscored that quick wins and long-term builds aren’t mutually exclusive. Her advice: “Let two trains leave the station, one focused on near-term engagement, one on foundational modernization and make sure they meet again with momentum.”

The data product mindset

Traditional data programs rely on centralized BI and static reporting. Modern institutions are shifting to a data product approach, a governed, outcome-based asset that’s funded by the value it delivers.

Utilizing Databricks, Azure, and Salesforce, Golden 1 applied this concept to build Member 360, transforming fragmented account views into unified relationships. It’s a collaborative product spanning IT, marketing, and service, not a back-office initiative. “When your frontline teams are championing the data product,” said Michael, “funding follows.”

Why Salesforce Data 360 matters now. Salesforce Data Cloud rapidly democratizes governed data into the systems where growth happens, Sales, Service, and Marketing, so teams can activate business outcomes (renewals, cross-sell, churn saves) directly in Salesforce. It closes the classic gap where insights live in the warehouse, but engagement happens somewhere else.

Manvir emphasized that this mindset, governance embedded within the product enables agility. Institutions can build, test, and scale data products in 90-day cycles, proving value with every iteration.

Building data products: A 90-day playbook for impact

1. Pick a high-impact moment. Identify a signal that matters, like deposit flight, credit activation, or churn risk.
   
   
2. Wire the loop. Connect key data sources into your modern stack (Databricks, Snowflake, or Data 360). Establish ID resolution and data quality early.
   
   
3. Activate. Push insights to Salesforce for personalized offers and journeys. Make it easy for bankers and marketers to act.
   
   
4. Measure. Prove lift, not latency then reinvest your win into the next data product.

“Can you build a data product in 90 days? There’s no reason you can’t. That’s where the ROI lives.”‍

-Manvir Sandhu, Founder & CIO, Zennify

Key Learnings from The Data Debate

Platforms don’t create value, people and orchestration do

The strongest data platforms are only as powerful as the strategy uniting them. Success comes from aligning Databricks, Snowflake, Azure, and Data 360 to shared outcomes: growth, loyalty, and efficiency.

Moments that matter drive measurable growth

Customers experience moments, not systems. The ability to anticipate and act on those moments defines the next generation of banking experiences.

Maturity isn’t linear

Institutions can modernize and activate in parallel, laying foundations while delivering visible results in 90-day cycles.

Data products change the game

Treating data as a governed product with ownership, KPIs, and ROI accelerates adoption and funding across the business.

Quick wins build momentum

Each shipped data product should prove lift, not latency, and fund the next sprint toward scalable, AI-ready modernization.