When Data Becomes a Product: The Joe Reis Show Podcast Debrief with Salma Bakouk

From Algo Trading to Observability

Salma’s journey started on the trading floors of a U.S. investment bank, where data wasn’t just a dashboard — it was the product. That early experience shaped how she thinks about data observability today: not as a monitoring tool, but as the foundation of trust when data powers business outcomes.

“We were building algos. We were selling them. Data was the product.”

Observability Isn’t a Nice-to-Have Anymore

When Sifflet launched, Salma had to explain to people what observability meant. Now? Large enterprises come to the table with detailed RFPs and specific use cases. They know what lineage is. They expect incident resolution. And they need answers that scale.

“It’s not just about monitoring anymore. It’s about operationalizing trust.”

The “Modern” Data Stack is Dead

We’ve passed the shiny-tools phase. As Salma explains, companies are tired of “modern for modern’s sake.” They’re done chasing the latest buzzword combo. The focus now is on stitching together the stack that works — no matter how hybrid or messy — to deliver actual business outcomes.

“What people want now is a data platform that gets the job done. It doesn’t have to be pretty.”

AI Turned Data Quality Into an Executive Issue

The AI hype has raised the bar. CIOs and CDOs are now being told to “do AI,” but many are still missing the basics. That’s where observability becomes a prerequisite, not an afterthought. You can’t scale models on broken pipelines.

"Wanna Do AI? Clean Up Your Mess First" “You can’t do AI if your analytics aren’t ready. Full stop.”

Salma Bakouk

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The Data Consumer Finally Has a Seat at the Table

Salma highlighted a shift in buyer behavior: data consumers are now included in the conversation, not just the engineers. It’s a sign of how important it’s become to operationalize trust across the business.

“The data team is a cost center, yes — but it’s also a value creator. That’s why trust matters.”

What’s Next for Sifflet?

As observability matures, Sifflet is doubling down on solving the next generation of challenges: hybrid environments, end-to-end lineage, and data trust at scale. With a growing team and footprint in the US and Europe, the company is staying true to its roots while building what’s next.

“We’re not here to solve today’s problems. If we are, we’re already too late.”

Want to go deeper?
Watch or listen to the full conversation between Salma and Joe. And if you’re looking to join the observability revolution, check out our career's page.

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