Imperial Brands set out to make Databricks more accessible to its global analyst community, including users with different levels of technical experience. Together with DATAPAO, the team developed a tailored, instructor-led enablement programme built around relevant business data, familiar workflows and practical use cases. The goal was not simply to introduce the platform, but to give analysts the confidence and skills to apply Databricks effectively in their day-to-day work.

Topics include:

• Why traditional and self-paced training approaches struggled to drive Databricks adoption across a large analyst community.
• How Imperial Brands and DATAPAO designed a tailored, instructor-led enablement programme around real business needs, familiar data and relevant use cases.
• How to make Databricks accessible to analysts transitioning from traditional tools such as Excel, without requiring extensive prior Python or SQL experience.
• Why leadership sponsorship and dedicated learning time are critical to successful enablement at scale.
• How to navigate data security, governance and access requirements when using business-relevant datasets in training.
• What Imperial Brands learned from training more than 50 participants across different teams and regions, and how instructor-led learning helped turn platform knowledge into practical adoption.

The session offers practical insights into what it takes to move beyond platform access and create meaningful adoption. It shows how relevant training, organisational support and hands-on learning can help analysts build confidence, develop practical solutions and turn new Databricks capabilities into lasting value for the business.