2004 Athens Olympic Games

Twenty years ago, I represented Team Ireland in the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, in the men’s lightweight rowing four. The experience was both challenging and rewarding – training for the Olympics required immense dedication, teamwork, and resilience. But the camaraderie with my teammates, plus the thrill of representing my country on the world stage, was unparalleled.

Whilst the experience of the Olympics was incredible, adjusting to life outside the professional world of sport was challenging. I spent many years searching for job satisfaction after retiring from international sport in 2008, until an opportunity for something new within the world of software development presented itself during the Pandemic. I’d always been interested in tech, but balancing work and raising two young kids made it difficult to find the time to upskill and consider a career move.

Everything changed in April 2020, when I was furloughed from my job and discovered a Masters in Software Development offered by Queen’s University, Belfast. The course provided an excellent opportunity to earn whilst I learned, allowing me to develop my skills without financial strain. As I progressed through the program, I found myself particularly drawn to data analysis and by the end of the program (15 months later), I had the fortunate opportunity to meet Datactics’ CEO, Stuart Harvey.

Finding my new team

Stuart felt like the career guidance teacher I never had. During our first initial meeting, he recognised that my unique skill set and experience would lend themselves to developing a career in data and suggested that I join the Data Engineering team at Datactics. Because working in the tech industry doesn’t hinge solely on writing code, it can be just as valuable to have skills in problem-solving, creative thinking, effective communication, and teamwork; all of which I developed as a rower.

Not long into the role, I felt a familiar sense of camaraderie and teamwork underpinning daily life at Datactics. The collaborative environment mirrored the tight-knit dynamic of my rowing team, where each member’s contribution is crucial to success and every team member is valued. I also found myself applying the same principles I learnt in professional sport – precision and accuracy- to my work at Datactics. A typical day for me involves working across financial services and government, ensuring data quality and integrity for businesses worldwide. I still get the reward of working in a team, but my responsibilities now are more data quality rule-building than rowing; less oar technique and more data engineer skills.

A data-driven sport

In hindsight, my interest in data is not all that surprising. Rowing is a data-driven sport, with every stroke, race, and training session meticulously recorded and analysed. Having accurate and reliable data helped me understand my performance, identify areas for improvement, and strategise for future races. Now, instead of improving the performance of myself and my team, I use these same data-driven principles to help our customers enhance their performance and achieve their goals.

Transitioning from the world of sport to software has been uniquely challenging and rewarding, with rowing providing me with more transferable skills than I ever expected. I still get to leverage the lessons I learned on the water and enjoy the daily camaraderie of working with an incredible team. As the Paris Games mark twenty years since I represented my country, I’m reminded of some amazing times representing Team Ireland and look forward to seeing where the athletes of Paris 2024 will go in their careers. I’m also reminded that the Olympic spirit, and the value of teamwork, has never left me.

About Eugene

Eugene is a Senior Data Engineer at Datactics. Datactics provides leading data quality and matching software, augmented by machine learning and designed for non-technical business users. Eugene assists clients with their data quality ambitions, providing hands-on support and data quality expertise. At Datactics, we have developed our professional services offering, Datactics Catalyst, to deliver practical support in your data strategy. From augmenting your data team to work on specific data projects to delivering specialised training, our professional services team support data leaders in reaching their goals. Find out more here.

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Datactics has been awarded the Bronze Diversity Mark Accreditation for its efforts in championing Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI) in the workplace. 

Diversity Mark, established by Women in Business NI, helps businesses across the UK and Ireland build more diverse and inclusive workplaces, through accreditation, insights, best practice and peer support. Evaluated by an independent assessment panel, Datactics has achieved Bronze Award, which marks the beginning of the organisation’s journey in advancing diversity and inclusion.

Datactics Head of People, Elspeth Flenley, said:

“Achieving this award hot on the heels of International Women’s Day feels befitting. We have long championed the role of women in the workplace, especially in technology companies, and securing this award demonstrates our longstanding commitment to a diverse workforce. It marks the start of a continual process of action and review and provides us with a solid framework to demonstrate progress against our DEI ambitions at Datactics.” 

Recognising Datactics’ ambitions, Nuala Murphy, Director at Diversity Mark said:

“We are delighted that Datactics has been awarded the Bronze Diversity Mark Accreditation for its commitment to advancing Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the workplace. Our independent assessment panel applauded Datactics’ forward thinking attitude in relation to culture within the organisation. Huge congratulations to all the team on this robust achievement.”

About Datactics:

Datactics is an award-winning, Belfast-based tech company with a team of over 70, providing AI-augmented data quality and matching software to a growing number of international clients across industries. Solutions are data-agnostic and offer interoperability with data lineage, governance, and metadata management tools, especially critical in the deployment of data fabric and data mesh architectures. Datactics received Investors in People Gold accreditation in March 2022, having propelled from Bronze. Twelve months later, they secured additional recognition in the Diversity Mark Bronze Award.

About Diversity Mark:

The Diversity Mark was the first accreditation of its kind and was developed with the support of businesses that were committed to building more diverse and inclusive workplaces. The accreditation was officially launched in September 2017. Within 3 years, over 80 progressive companies from all business sectors had signed the Charter and are committed to transforming workplace culture and attitudes for good.

Diversity Mark offers accreditation, expert support, and guidance to organisations that are navigating the Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) landscape. It is the only accreditation where award applications and annual reports are assessed independently by assessors. Their assessment process is highly robust and, as such, is held in high regard as a mark of progress for DEI. 

For more from Datactics, find us on Linkedin, Twitter or Facebook.

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Datactics is taking part in the Belfast Winter Series of Business Fives Football Tournament to raise funds for a local charity!

The corporate charity five-a-side football events at Stormont Pavilion offer the opportunity to boost our company culture and develop new and existing relationships whilst supporting charity and you can find out more here.

Datactics will be raising money for the chosen charity: Storehouse Belfast

Storehouse freely provides food, clothing, furniture and basic household goods, to families and individuals throughout Belfast, who are experiencing extreme financial difficulty.

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Yesterday (Thursday 16^th December) Team Datactics travelled across the road to Castlecourt shopping centre to help wrap Christmas presents. With around 7,500 children keen to meet the big man himself by the time Christmas week arrives, there are production targets to be met! Unfortunately, poor Santa was a bit behind on said production targets and hadn’t managed to wrap all the presents to give out to the children. Castlecourt enlisted the help of Ian Campbell, from Ten Foundations, to help wrap the presents in exchange for a donation to charity. Michael Lynch from Datactics has known Ian for years and is passionate about the work that Ten Foundations does with the livelihood programme. More context to Ten Foundations can be found here. 

Michael and Jill Wilson coordinated to rally the finest professional elves from Datactics to head across and assist in providing wrapping skills to this worthy cause. Overall, a team of 11 from Datactics was able to make a strong contribution to the 7,500 target and do our bit to save Christmas! 

We feel passionate at Datactics about helping out and this cause felt particularly significant as it was not only close to Michael’s heart, but we knew it would provide for the many children keen to visit Santa in this important season amid tricky times for all of us. And of course, support the splendid work that Ten Foundations is doing! 

Thanks, Ian, for letting us help and thanks to all the team at Datactics. 

And for more from Datactics, find us on Linkedin, Twitter or Facebook.

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Hot on the heels of Datactics’ recent announcement concerning new funding from Invest Northern Ireland, Matt Flenley, Head of Marketing, writes about the company’s exciting plans for expansion.

We were delighted to share the news from Invest NI, as it demonstrates both their commitment to home-grown tech companies and our own story of business success. The latter comes from the kinds of client we’ve been working with over the last few years – major international blue-chip organisations, some of the biggest firms in financial services and information management, and with a cornerstone programme for policing in the UK, NDQIS.

All of this has been secured through the hard work and energy of 60 talented and innovative people, getting the firm from a small 15-person office behind Victoria Square when I joined in 2017, to its current HQ near Belfast’s iconic Waterfront Hall. The new roles we’re now advertising, supported by Invest NI, are designed to keep the foot down on that growth story, take us to the next stage and deliver even more to our loyal clients.

The variety of technical and client-facing roles should appeal to a wide range of people. We’ve always said we want to work with great people, and if potential employees are reading this, thinking they might well be passionate about a career in data, they should absolutely get in touch with us. On our website can be found stories from a number of our team, spanning technology, delivery, project management, and more, which should help encourage people to take the plunge and explore a career with Datactics.

You can check out the brand new, exciting roles here.

If you would like to hear more from Datactics, find us on Linkedin, Twitter or Facebook.

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Edele Copeland joined Datactics just under 6 months ago to work in our Software Development team.  We have loved getting to know her and wanted to take the time to ask her about how she is settling in; what her favourite part of being in the team is; and how she sees her role developing into the future. 

Hi Edele, how are you settling into the role? 

Brilliantly! I was delighted to immediately feel part of the team. From the first day, I was able to take the time to get my head around the job and am now proud to be working on really meaningful, exciting, and challenging projects. One of the great things about Datactics is the team. I have a brilliant manager in Martin Downey and my colleagues I work with day in/day out with are massively supportive, knowledgeable, and talented. Another aspect I enjoy is the flexibility; being in a development role, we ensure that the parameters of the project are set and then we can go work on the project at our own pace.  

What sort of workplace is Datactics? 

Datactics is the epitome of diversity, the team has a strong mix of genders and nationalities which is an important aspect to the company. Working in a team with such talented females has pushed me to want to progress in my career further. As a woman in technology, I am proud to see the trajectory of females in technology increase. Datactics is a wonderful place to work and from the first day, I remember thinking this – from the support, the social aspects, the career progression, the friendly team, and the growth of the company – it really is an exciting place to be! 

What are your goals? 

I am focusing on developing my skills as much as possible right now. In the past, I have had the opportunity to work with many different coding languages which has helped me to grasp the skills needed to do this job. I would hope to utilise the mentors around me to help me grow in both skill, acumen and professionalism. I am proud to be in a company that is going from strength to strength in terms of the talent and the technology. As time goes on, I want to be able to become even more confident in my ability, continually challenge myself to always be learning. I would love to go back to my old school and speak to the young girls about what a career in STEM can look like and to encourage them to pursue it as a career. 

We are currently advertising for the role of Senior Software Engineer. As you are 6 months into your own role at Datactics, what would you say to anyone considering applying for the post? 

You will be working closely with me! I would say that for anyone wishing to apply that you are guaranteed to learn huge amounts in a very short space of time, and I think if you are willing to work hard and buy into the company ethos here you will thrive. For any females thinking of applying, the company is keen to continually give women an opportunity in the technology field and are huge advocates of diversity and inclusion. All in all, 6-ish months in, I am very happy with my choice to come and join the amazing team here. I am looking forward to progressing in my career and I hope I will be able to always add value to the amazing work the company is doing! 

Thanks, Edele! If you would like to speak further with Edele about what it is like working in such a fast-paced, exciting team – you can reach out to her here. If you would like more information about the role itself, that information can be found here on our website.  

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Julian Wavell kickstarted his role as Head of Business Development UK at Datactics a few weeks ago. We thought it would be a good idea to sit down with him and chat about his role and what he is hoping to achieve within it.

Hi Julian! It’s great to have you join us, could you tell us a bit about your background before Datactics?

My original background was in Accountancy, I have always had an interest in numbers, having played an early part in the transition from an analogue to a digital world (ask me later). Data has now become the new oil. My first real venture into the software market was in 2000, having joined a start-up company selling early versions of an online Customer Service Agent technology. I then spent a number of years working for large US software companies which enabled me to gain a solid understanding of the Data Management space. In 2010, I opened the UK office for Ataccama and really sought to get to the bottom of why people would buy the software, what problems are they trying to solve and how can we solve the problem. I have always said if you can understand the business challenge and priority from a customer perspective you have a greater chance of finding a solution to meet their needs, the cornerstone of any business!

My strategy has been two-fold. Firstly, building trusted relationships with customers directly to solve their problems; whether that be data quality, data governance or mastering data. Secondly, working with Partners – as they can have greater visibility and insight into the bigger picture regarding customer projects and initiatives and can bring more value through domain expertise and their ability to scale solutions.

Taking it back further, what was your background before work?

I didn’t attend University – I went to college for a few years and studied Business Management. My first job was working for a Chartered Accountant and spent the following number of years working for Sainsbury’s and Digital (DEC) in Management Accounts. I soon came to the conclusion that Accountancy wasn’t going to be my future and decided to look for a different challenge. I made my move into Sales and I have never looked back. I have a genuine interest in technology and the value it can bring to businesses, but at the heart is an entrepreneurial spirit that runs through everything I do. I think my role at Datactics has come at the perfect time, I was ready for a new challenge, and I could see a really exciting opportunity with Datactics to take the business to the next level.

What would your proudest achievement be in your career so far?

I have had some great successes working on Financial Services, Pharma, and Telco projects over the years, but my proudest moments have been working with two high profile charities; RNLI and Cancer Research. Both of which came at different stages in my career. Whilst different in nature, the projects sought out to improve the customer experience, drive down costs and facilitate better decision making through improved data quality. For me, projects like those are important as they are the ones that make the biggest difference. The outcome of what I do is the most important thing – setting what you are going to do and always learning is vital and I have been privileged to always be able to learn.

If you had to summarise what you most looking forward to about the role, what would you say?

Companies have got their eye on AI; they want to know how they can use it from a business value perspective and I am interested to understand how we can help them solve their problems using AI. I really enjoy the challenge of a scale-up, we either do nothing or everything, it’s up to us to make it happen. Datactics is at a really exciting stage with the recent investment, growth, and differentiators making it a brilliant solution, and I can’t wait to get it in front of more people.

Julian’s appointment means Datactics has now grown to nearly 60, securing international clients in New York and Amsterdam during the past 12 months, alongside a £2m investment round. “We’ve seen many market consolidation moves in data management from large technology, consultancy and Private Equity firms, particularly as companies are seeking to make up for lost ground over the past year” commented Matt Flenley, Head of Marketing at Datactics. “The demand is especially strong in some of our strongest growth sectors such as wealth and asset management, and insurance, where ongoing challenges over digital transformation and the need to truly master the single customer view have never been more relevant.”

Thanks for the great chat, Julian, we are delighted you have joined us!

Click here for more by Datactics, or find us on Linkedin, Twitter, or Facebook for the latest news.

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“One of the main things I want to put across is that I was willing to move from a big company and a sport I was passionate about to come to work in Belfast” 

Martin Vance joined our team 15 months ago as a Data Management Consultant, helping our clients solve real-world data management problems. As someone who is passionate about data, he enjoys applying his analytical mind to solving problems and curating innovative solutions; in this interview, we took some time to find out why he relocated to Belfast from the fast-paced world of F1, and see what he’s planning to do next

How did you come across Datactics? 

I can’t remember what the event was, but I remember a listed Data Management event that included Datactics. If it hadn’t been for that event, I don’t think I would’ve heard of the company. I then applied for the role and got it! Datactics instantly stood out to me as a company that has reputation, one which had experience within it, and ultimately one that was leading discussions within the technology space. 

How did you get into Data? 

When I was 18, I went to America on a Soccer Scholarship as a student athlete. I quickly realised that I wanted to study further, which led me to study human performance (Sports Science) at university in England. I then did a Master’s in Clinical Exercise Physiology at Northumbria. 

Straight after University, my first role was within data with F1, and although my degrees were not directly related to technology, I was able to demonstrate my scientific and analytical mindset to land the role. 

How have you found the transition into a scale up company from a larger organisation? 

For me, I have loved getting to understand the different functions of the business. In larger organisations you tend to know your team and that’s it. At Datactics, being able to work with others from a wide range of backgrounds with a vast array of skills has been enlightening. On another note, it’s been brilliant to work in a gender diverse environment. Datactics is doing a great job of encouraging women to enter the technology sphere. Also, there is great age diversity within the company – I enjoy working with experienced eyes and working with those that are fresh into their career in equal measure. 

You are planning to undertake another master’s, could you tell me a bit about that? 

For me, it’s about gaining a more holistic view of data. I have done the data analysis role and then the data management role. I now feel like the gap in my knowledge base is understanding machine learning and artificial intelligence. Working closely with the Head of AI, Fiona Browne has been very inspiring to me, so I felt I would look into a Masters in Data Science in Ulster. I think this Masters will help me improve my knowledge and allow me to give more to my role at Datactics. I start the master’s time from September and am delighted to be able to study alongside working. The goal would be that my dissertation would tie well into something we are working on within the company, making it mutually beneficial for both myself and the company.  

You previously worked in England; how did you find coming over to Northern Ireland? 

One of the main things I want to put across is that I was willing to move from a big company and a sport I was passionate about to come to work in Belfast. The move was 100% worth it. Moving back to Northern Ireland has given me great work life balance and I feel particularly excited to be working for a company that is growing hugely. In the next 10-15 years I think Northern Ireland will continue to go from strength to strength as a hub for technology and opportunity. 

Thanks, Martin, for taking the time to chat with us. It was great to be able to hear about your passions and your career journey to date.  We look forward to hearing more from you soon and good luck with the master’s! 

Click here for more by the author, or find us on Linkedin, Twitter or Facebook for the latest news. 

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Edele Copeland has joined our team this week as a Software Engineer. We thought we would sit down and find out a bit more about who she is, how she has come to Datactics, her goals and ambitions. Read on to get to know her better… 

Hi Edele! It’s great to have you on board. What can you tell me about this role you have taken up with Datactics? 

Hello! I am delighted to have joined the software development team as a developer. I have been a developer for 3 years now with most of my previous experience being in C# and now I am venturing into the world of Java, which is all new to me. The first couple of months I will spend training and getting used to the business. I feel this role will give me a great opportunity to elevate my career within software and be able to develop my skillset whilst working alongside a stellar team. 

What brought you to work for a company like Datactics? 

Someone else within the company recommended Datactics to me which really enticed me to apply! I studied my undergraduate degree in Mathematics at Queens University, which was then followed by a master’s in Software Development. I have worked with data in a previous role, so I have developed a passion for data and the importance of data quality. I am really looking forward to being in an environment that will allow me to develop my skillset but most importantly be working towards projects that will have high impact and will help advance the company. 

How did you find your groove within software development? 

When I undertook my undergraduate degree in Mathematics, I wasn’t entirely sure which avenue I wanted to go down. Some people were wanting to be teachers, go into academia or become accountants but for me I wasn’t sure. I remember researching various master’s qualifications and I realised that Software Development was going to open many doors for me and that the employment rates were brilliant. I didn’t think about technology from a young age, I just knew I enjoyed numbers, and software development allowed me to use my logical, statistical background and apply it to technological solutions. 

Coming into the role, what are you most looking forward to? 
I am really looking forward to working with a team that has such a variety of experience levels. I am keen to elevate my career, I am an ambitious person so joining a company that clearly supports employees in development was massively important. I am also very passionate about promoting STEM to other girls and young women that are keen to enter the profession. STEM is a great career path, and I am hoping I can get involved with Women in Tech as part of the company. 

What were your first impressions of the company?  

My first impressions were brilliant – I had a call with Stuart, CEO just before starting and I remember from then thinking that the company is a company that goes the extra miles for their employees! I have been spending the first few days getting to know my other team members and I found it so refreshing to hear about the different educational backgrounds they have all had. It just goes to show, that there are many ways to get started in the technology sphere.  

Brilliant! What about goals for the role as you are starting out?  

I want to learn from now until the foreseeable. I am keen to become a senior developer in the next year and a half. Setting a goal like this for myself is scary but will push me to strive to achieve as best as I can. I am also keen to get in touch with my old secondary school, to go back and give a talk to female pupils and showcase to them what a career in technology looks like and the various different paths to get there. Everything is not set in stone, I did a mathematics degree and then moved across to Software Development later.  

You tutor alongside working, can you tell me a bit about that? 

In my spare time, I tutor 13–18-year-olds in Maths. I have been doing this for the past 10 years since I was a university student as I have gone through my various roles within my career. I am really passionate about helping young people to understand mathematics and to showcase to them the wealth of opportunities in front of them! I have seen a big trend in young girls doing mathematics at A-Level and then wanting to pursue a career with STEM, I feel in a lucky position to be able to help young people to learn and develop. 

Overall, I am so excited to get stuck into my role. I am looking forward to working across the various different projects that will come my way! 

Thanks, Edele, for taking the time to chat with us. It was great to be able to hear about your passions and your career journey to date.  We look forward to hearing more from you soon!  

Click here for more by the author, or find us on Linkedin, Twitter or Facebook for the latest news. 

The post “I am really passionate about helping young people to understand mathematics and to showcase to them the wealth of opportunities in front of them!…” Meet Edele: our new Software Engineer appeared first on Datactics.

Welcome to our fortnightly round-up from Datactics, highlighting some great moments of achievement for us… 

Bloor Mutable Award 2021 

Just like the blink of an eye, Friday is upon us again and it’s time for us to tell you all the exciting developments that have been happening over the past two weeks! 

To kick-off, we delightedly announced this week that Datactics has secured a further accolade for the quality of its technology, this time from Bloor Research. Datactics Self-Service Data Quality (SSDQ) has been awarded the Platinum Mutable Award in the 2021 Report.

The award recognises software vendors that enable their clients to deal with data management processes in an intelligent and business-focused way. 

Download your copy of the InBrief article from Bloor Research to find out more. 

Datactics is a leader in the 2021 SoftwareReviews Data Quality Data Quadrant 

We are thrilled to announce that Datactics has been recognised as a leader in the 2021 Data Quality Data Quadrant report from SoftReviews (a division of IT research and consulting from Info-Tech Research Group). 

The award is based on the collective experience of real users, and placement is based on their satisfaction with the product features, vendor experience, capabilities and emotional sentiment. Datactics was named a leader, with a composite score of 8.5, which represents the complete and aggregated satisfaction score from end users. Vendor support and availability & quality of training were two of the strongest capabilities associated with Datactics, resulting in a 100% Plan to Renew reported by its users.  

We managed to also secure the top satisfaction scores in a variety of areas representing vendor capabilities and product features, including: Satisfaction that Cost is Fair Relative to Value, Ease of IT Administration and Data Matching & Data Cleansing.  

The Finnovate Show featuring Matt Flenley available to listen to! 

Matt Flenley, recently contributed to The Finnovate Show, a podcast that gives a space for financial service leaders that are leading change and innovation a chance to share. 

The podcast covered topics including: 

• How Datactics has evolved during COVID-19 
• How the current regulatory environment is evolving 
• The implications of how the current regulatory environment is evolving 
• Where the current regulatory environment leaves FIs. 

Matt’s podcast can be listened to here.

Contributed to Nigma Community Meet up 

On the 31st March, our Head of Artificial Intelligence, Dr Fiona Browne shared at the Nigma Community Meet up event on the topic of ‘How to get started with AI and ML’. This is a Meetup which is aimed at keeping student developers and learners up-to-date on the latest technology stacks and current software trends that are being demanded by employers. It can be difficult to be a student or learner in the software sector, heading out into the industry for the first time, whether that be on your placement, internship or your first graduate job. Jonathan Armstrong, Cirdan and Darren Broderick from Liberty IT also contributed to the event. Overall, the feedback was brilliant with lots of great questions asked. We are delighted to be able to support the next wave of developers. 

We attended FinTech Talents North America 2021 

Last week, we attended a delegation of 12 other Northern Irish companies for a virtual conference entitled ‘FinTech Talents North America’.

The event showcased a selection of leading financial services companies from Northern Ireland who offer a range of innovative services and solutions for areas including FinTech, Cybersecurity and Data Analytics, AI and IOT, servicing banks, corporations, governments, and utilities worldwide. The event was highly valuable with great conversations happening throughout. We were thrilled to be a part of it! 

Welcome to Roisin and Jack! 

We are excited that our team has continued to grow. We have welcomed Roisin Floyd into the Marketing Team and Jack Torrens into the pre-sales team. We interviewed both of them about their new venture. You can read both pieces here by clicking the following images. 

Upcoming Events 

Stuart Harvey is contributing to a webinar on the topic of ‘𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀’, brought to you by Data Management Insight, from A-Team Insight. 

Register for the webinar to find out: 
 

• How to establish data quality 
• How to implement effective data governance 
• The benefits of combining data quality and governance 
• The best technologies and tools for these tasks 
• How to ensure accurate and meaningful analytics 

To register for this event on the 22nd of April, click here. 

Finally, we hope you have a Happy Easter, from all of us at Datactics! 

For more on AI and Ethics, Data Quality, or just an introduction to our new team members, you can find us on Linkedin, Twitter or Facebook. 

The post Datactics Round-Up: Bloor Research Platinum Award & The SoftwareReviews Data Quality Quadrant appeared first on Datactics.

Following hot on the heels of Michael Lynch and Brendan McCarthy, our latest new recruit is Roisin Floyd, joining the marketing team as our brand new graduate research associate and writer. We thought we would sit down and find out a bit more about who she is, how she has come to Datactics, her goals and ambitions. Read on to get to know her better…

Hi Roisin! It’s great to have you on board. What can you tell me about this role you have taken up with Datactics? 

The role is Graduate Research Associate and Writer, a role that is brand new to the company and one which I am delighted to be taking. This role will combine my skills with PR, writing and researching to provide technical and non-technical pieces that will support the company’s ambitious plans to expand. The most exciting thing about the role is that prior to me starting the position, this was a role that didn’t exist. I feel this will give me a great opportunity to put my stamp on the team and create great written content whilst working with the rest of the dynamic marketing team. 

“This is the role I have been looking for. It perfectly marries together my interest in research and writing. I can’t wait to get started and fully immerse myself!”

What brought you to work for a company like Datactics?

I studied at Newcastle University for my undergraduate in Media, Communications and Culture, which exposed me to advertising, journalism and PR. Upon graduation in 2017, I then returned to study my master’s in Cross Cultural Communication and Media which was more language based, which allowed me to do a thesis on Music and Politics in Northern Ireland. Overall, my background has been heavily in research and communications. Since completing my master’s, I have worked in several different jobs including working in a PR company, working for a charity, and I have just finished working in NHS recruitment. Data and technology are brand new territories for me! I am extremely interested in this sector, which was something I heavily conveyed in my interview as one of the main reasons I was keen to secure this role. 

“Data and technology are brand new territories for me! I am extremely interested in this sector, which was something I heavily conveyed in my interview as one of the main reasons I was keen to secure this role”.

How did you find your groove with PR, writing and researching? 

In a previous role, I realised that my strengths were in researching and writing. In my past role I would’ve been briefed with the task of researching all the information behind a campaign, a comprehensive approach which involved competitor analysis, gathering excerpts and focusing on ensuring the campaign was well thought out. I then helped with executing the campaign. For me, I realised this was a skill of mine and I am looking forward to using this skill in this brand-new industry. 

Coming into the role, do you have any fears? 

I think it might revolve around the fact this is brand new industry for me and I am wanting to make sure that I do the best job I can! I think it’ll be a huge learning curve for me, and I am excited to begin writing and becoming more knowledgeable on the topic areas. So long as I can involve myself in projects from the early days, I am hopeful I will quickly come to terms with terminologies and technologies. 

What were your first impressions of the company? 

The team has been great, I have really enjoyed meeting all the people in the company so far. There has been a great amount of support. The company has been growing really fast from the outside looking in which to me is extremely exciting, as this will bring more opportunity! It’s a great feeling to join a company that is performing so well, with such great direction. On top of direction, the company has some great values: ambition, passion and integrity, all of three of these values have been prevalent to me from my first interview to starting the role.

“I have been incredibly encouraged too by the clear diversity and inclusion within the company”.

Brilliant! What about goals for the role as you are starting out? 

I am really looking forward to getting pieces published, on top of that I would love to make an impact for the company. I am keen to explore studying some sort of course to complement my new role, one which will allow to broaden my horizons and further educate myself. I am embracing the new challenge with optimism and am looking forward to collaborating with the rest of the team. I have gotten the impression already that learning is key to a successful career at Datactics, with many other team members studying alongside their roles. This to me suggests that the company is keen to support their employees on their own personal pursuit to progress on their professional development journey. On a side note, I am really looking forward to getting involved with social activities within the company, there seems to be a great culture here – so I am looking forward to participating in the next event! I’ve heard some fun things about Virtual Escape rooms! 

“I have gotten the impression already that learning is key to a successful career at Datactics, with many other team members studying alongside their roles”.

Thanks, Roisin, for taking the time to chat with us. It was great to be able to hear about your passions and your career journey to date.  We look forward to hearing more from you soon! 

Roisin will soon be curating and writing forward-thinking technical pieces. Keep an eye out on our data blog for her (soon to be) booming author bio, which will provide you with data-centric pieces that will blow your mind and affirm the importance of ensuring data quality of course…

Click here for more by the author, or find us on Linkedin, Twitter or Facebook for the latest news. 

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Michael Lynch is one of our brand new Business Development Executives, joining the team as part of Invest NI’s Graduate to Export programme. As a recent PPE graduate, he is keen to get stuck into a career in the technology space and we are delighted that he has joined our growing team. We thought we would sit down and find out who he is, how he has come to Datactics, his goals and ambitions! We hope you enjoy getting to know him…

Hi Michael! It’s great to have you on board. What can you tell me about this brand-new role you have taken up with Datactics?

I have just joined the sales team as an International Business Development Executive. The role is in conjunction with Invest NI’s Graduate to Export programme and I will be primarily exploring what opportunities exist for the company to grow beyond these shores. I will have a particular focus on the Asia market starting with Japan. I am delighted to be joined by Brendan McCarthy – he will be going West as I will be going East to identify opportunities where Datactics can help clients outside of Northern Ireland.

You have 6 months with us in Belfast and then you will hopefully get to spend 12 months in Japan. For your first 6 months, what are your main goals?

I am really keen to get under the hood of the product to unpack the technicalities… i.e. how the product works and how the product can best serve client interests. I am also keen to integrate with the team to find out how the other functions of the business work together. From that, I am then keen to see how my role will shape into the bigger vision of the company. The key priority for me will be trying to understand the product and a better overall understanding of client needs in tandem with that.

Tell me more about your degree background and how that has led you into the role you are in today?

So I graduated a few years back in 2017 and studied PPE (Politics, Philosophy and Economics) which was a very diverse subject area and I loved how collaborative the course was. A career ambition was always been, in some capacity, to help the economic prosperity of Northern Ireland – I care about where I am from and want to make it better. I think this role is a great opportunity to put a spotlight on the innovation and ingenuity that comes out of Northern Ireland. Prior to joining Datactics, I worked in PwC for a number of years, primarily for clients within the financial services sector. I feel this new role at Datactics is a natural fit in two ways; firstly as Belfast has a rapidly growing tech hub which plays in strongly to the prosperity of our city which I have always strived to contribute to. And secondly, Datactics offers a very innovate solution of helping clients that have very messy data – I hope my previous experience serves me well in understanding some of the complexities and data challenges that clients in financial services experience.  

Tell me a bit about the post graduate diploma you are undertaking as part of Graduate to Export?

I will be undertaking a Post Graduate Diploma in International Marketing in conjunction with Ulster University and the Institute of Export. I am quite daunted by the thought of academia again… it’s a number of years since I had any textbooks open or had a student card! I have, however, always wanted to do a Post Grad and I am delighted that Datactics sees the value in further study and there are a number of colleagues who are in a similar boat studying and working at the same time.  

What are you most looking forward to about your role?

I am looking forward to building relationships which is a big cross over between sales and marketing. Already I can see the various partnerships and relationships that Datactics has across industry and my role plays directly into building and growing that. In the company there is a great marketing and sales team, and I am looking forward to working in tandem with them both to help further align the teams.

So, with the move to Japan, it will be a big change of culture no doubt, how do you feel about the impending move?

I love being in and amongst a culture that is somewhat alien to me.. from the language spoken, the questionable food delicacies, the perplexing transport network… I can’t wait to explore and try it all out. I am also very aware that the working structure in Japan is extremely different which will be one of the most interesting facets of the job.

Do you have any fears coming into the new role?

I think the nature of a scale-up is massively exciting, but it’s all very new. With the speed that things change and evolve being able to be agile is key. Not knowing the technicalities of the product will be challenging but it’s a fascinating product and a fascinating industry so I am very much looking forward to beginning to understand all the intricacies of how it works. 

On a side note, my first impressions of the company have been great. It’s been refreshing to grow a company scaling up with such ambitious plans, that also clearly prioritises diversity and inclusivity in the team and puts value on their people and what they are good at. From the offset, I have been provided a ‘buddy’ within the company, that I can speak to if I need anything over the course of my induction period – knowing there is such a supportive atmosphere makes you want to do your best. I have particularly appreciated getting to speak to different people from different functions in the company over the past week, this has allowed me to start to get a grasp of each function within the business and I can build a picture of how my role fits into the bigger picture.

Thanks, Michael, for taking the time to chat with us. It was great to be able to hear about your passions and your career journey to date.  We look forward to hearing more from you soon!

Click here for more by the author, or find us on Linkedin, Twitter or Facebook for the latest news.

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A Finnovate Show Appearance 

Just like that it’s Friday again and it’s time for us to update you on the excitement that’s been happening at Datactics over the past fortnight.  Matt Flenley recently spoke on the Finnovate Show, a podcast that gives a space for financial service leaders that are leading change and innovation a chance to share. The podcast covered topics including how Datactics has evolved during COVID-19, how the current regulatory environment is evolving and the implications of this and where this leaves FIs. Matt’s podcast will be released in due course and we will be sharing it across our social media platforms, so make sure to keep an eye out for that!  

AI and Ethics Panel chats with the experts 

In other news, Dr Fiona Browne was able to share last week on a panel moderated by Ramesh Dontha, Data Transformers on the topic of AI and Ethics. Increasingly, as you know, companies are leveraging data and artificial intelligence to create scalable solutions – but they’re also scaling their reputational, regulatory, and legal risks. Fiona, alongside AI exports Cortnie Abercrombie and Fion Lee-Madan unpacked the conversation further. To discuss more around this subject, reach out to Fiona on LinkedIn today.

AI for Services Roadshow with KTN 

Sticking with Fiona, she recently pitched at KTN: AI for Services Roadshow. The aim of the event was to discover the innovation taking place across the UK in the professional and financial, insurance, accountancy and law sectors. Kainos, Adoreboard and Analytics Engines are in amongst the few other companies that also represented Northern Ireland in the AI for Services Tour. To listen to Fiona’s pitch, click here: Northern Ireland Tour.  

Growing team at Datactics 

At Datactics we are delighted to announce that we have grown the team by 3 new members this week. We are taking part in Invest Northern Ireland’s Graduate to Export scheme alongside a number of ambitious, scaling companies putting people into international markets.  Two new International Business Development Executives have joined the team, Brendan McCarthy and Michael Lynch, who will both respectively spend 6 months working in our Belfast Headquarters before Michael heads off to Japan and Brendan to New York for 12 months. In market, they will help us engage clients we already have in the region and scale the business overseas. We are also welcoming our brand-new Graduate Research Associate and Writer to the team, Roisin Floyd, who will take on the challenge of going deeper on many of the data and industry topics our clients are passionate about.  Feel free to connect to any of these new team members on LinkedIn as I am sure they would love to talk to you about their new, key roles within our rapidly-growing team! 

Upcoming events 

At Datactics the events calendar never sleeps! Firstly, Stuart Harvey will be sharing on a panel in conjunction with Invest NI and American Banker. Alongside Dave Linsday, Vox Managing Director and Data Practice Lead and Simon Cole, CEO of hivera, they will discuss how they can help banks accelerate digital transformation to overcome the challenges of legacy systems. Together they will provide CIOs, CISOs, CDOs, and CROs valuable insight and best practices for using technology and optimizing data to break new ground in banking. Register for the event here. 

Stuart also is contributing to a webinar on the topic of ‘𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀’, brought to you by Data Management Insight, from A-Team Insight. 
 
Register for the webinar to find out: 
 
– How to establish data quality 
– How to implement effective data governance 
– The benefits of combining data quality and governance 
– The best technologies and tools for these tasks 
– How to ensure accurate and meaningful analytics 
 
To register for this event on the 22nd of April, click here.

For more on AI and Ethics webinar, Data Quality or just an introduction to our new team members, you can find us on Linkedin, Twitter or Facebook for the latest news. 

The post Datactics Round-Up: From speaking on the Finnovate Show to welcoming our new Graduate to Export team members! appeared first on Datactics.

Brendan McCarthy is one of our brand new Business Development Executives, joining the team as part of Invest NI’s Graduate to Export programme. As a recent Business graduate, he is keen to get stuck into a career in the technology space and we are delighted that he has joined our growing team. We thought we would sit down and find out who he is, how he has come to Datactics, his goals and ambitions! We hope you enjoy getting to know him…

Hi Brendan! It’s great to have you on board. What can you tell me about this brand-new role you have taken up with Datactics?

Hi, I am really excited to get started. I applied for the role at the start of January upon completing a Data Analysis course with South Eastern Regional College (SERC). Previous to that I undertook an undergraduate degree in Business Management at Queens University Belfast. I saw the role on LinkedIn and thought it looked great, I was interviewed a few times and then I landed in the role. I am very much looking forward to working with international clients mostly, trying to develop the North America Market. Graduate to Export is a brilliant programme and one I am proud to be a part of.

You have 6 months with us in Belfast and then you will hopefully get to spend 12 months in New York. For your first 6 months, what are your main goals?

The main priority is to gain as great a grasp as possible on the industry because although my background is in Business Management, the data management industry is brand new to me! I want to learn as much as possible on the solutions and the market sector at large. Over the next 6 months I will engage in training, as well as studying for a post graduate diploma in global marketing with the Graduate to Export programme. I am hoping the knowledge I gained in my SERC course in Data Analysis comes in handy – I was able to also gain introductory qualifications in leadership & management, Python and SQL! I would highly recommend doing the course, it was online and the support offered was second to none.

Tell me more about the post graduate qualification you are completing alongside working, what will that entail?

It’s with Ulster University and the Institute of Export and International Trade, all online with a much larger time scale to complete. There is the flexibility to complete it all whenever suits you best. Once we are out in market the time scale is even broader, with 3 months to do each module. I hope it will provide me with invaluable insight into the marketing globally, which I can use in practice over the course of the 18 months and beyond. The course will definitely keep me on my toes!

With your background being Business Management, do you prefer Marketing or Sales?

In my experience so far, it has been more marketing, but with the roles I had within the hospitality sector, sales comes quite naturally.  Combining Business and Technology quite quickly became a priority of mine after completing my undergraduate in Business Management at QUB. I feel equiped to be able to combine my learnings and my passion for data in a way that will seek to build relationships and help scale Datactics further.

So, with the move to New York, it will be a big change of culture no doubt, how do you feel about the impending move?

I lived in New York last year, just before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. I didn’t manage to get started back then but seeing this opportunity excited me! I have some experience working there and a few contacts already. I have always had a passion for travel and international markets, I enjoy the challenge of something new, that can push me out of my comfort zone. Having lived in New York already, I feel confident about moving there and I am intrigued to see how it will all unfold in due course.

Do you have any fears coming into the role?

I think there is always fears coming into a brand-new industry, particularly one which is more technical. I am keen to ensure that I have strong awareness of the business problem at hand, with a grasp of the capabilities of the solution but a focus on how we can solve data quality problems on an international scale. Datactics stood out to me amongst the other companies taking part in the Graduate to Export programme – I knew I really wanted to get involved with technology and I thought Datactics was the perfect way to do it! I am confident that I will be able to learn a lot from the highly skilled professionals around me. Having previously completed a placement as a Data Analyst, I am keen to use that knowledge within my efforts in Datactics!

On a side note, my first impressions of Datactics has been great! Throughout the interview process I instantly felt at ease. The company also seems to do a lot of social activity, which is something that highly appeals to me because I really enjoy getting to know others and it’s great to know there is a social committee that facilitates it all. It has been apparent to me quite quickly that Datactics is a ‘people first’ company, that embraces talent and encourages initiative at all levels from graduate to senior team.

Thanks, Brendan, for taking the time to chat with us. It was great to be able to hear about your passions and your career journey to date.  We look forward to hearing more from you soon!

Click here for more by the author, or find us on Linkedin, Twitter or Facebook for the latest news.

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Belfast, London, New York, Tokyo, 10^th March 2021

Datactics is delighted to welcome its two latest recruits, appointed as part of the Graduate to Export programme.

Run by Invest NI, the #GradToExport programme allows graduates to apply for an 18-month programme, part funded by Invest NI, to gain international export experience.

The programme sees graduates start working locally in Northern Ireland for 6 months, getting to know the business and gaining invaluable knowledge into the strategic direction of the business.

The final 12 months of the programme will be spent on placement in the company’s export market, identifying a specific market research project that is aligned to the company’s strategic marketing plan. 

Alongside gaining international experience and introducing a local product to a new market, both of the new appointees will be completing a part-time, fully-funded postgraduate diploma in International Marketing, accredited by Ulster University and the Institute of Export. 

Following an extensive recruitment process with very high-calibre interviewees, Datactics appointed Brendan McCarthy and Michael Lynch to the two roles earlier this month. Their work will focus on banking, insurance and wealth management, with Michael due to spend his time in market exploring opportunities in Japan and Brendan heading Stateside to help support our clients and grow the business in New York. It is hoped that market restrictions will ease so that the graduates will get to spend as much time in the market as possible.

This exciting programme affords rapid-growth companies like Datactics further support in international markets and explore opportunities such as in-market data management partnerships.

Stuart Harvey, CEO at Datactics stated:

We are pleased to work with the Graduate to Export programme. Datactics has shown strong international growth in the last three years and we hope that having Brendan and Michael in-market will accelerate that during 2022.

Steve Harper, Invest NI’s Executive Director of International Trade said:

We are pleased to be able to support the growth of local talent through the second year of our Graduate to Export Programme. Northern Ireland businesses will have the opportunity to utilise the expertise of a local graduate to do extensive research in advance of targeting new markets, with the ultimate aim of increasing their exports. 

Graduates will bring a fresh perspective and be able to maximise the skills they have gained in the course of their degree. They will also benefit from the international business experience and academic mentoring from Ulster University and the Institute of Export and International Trade. It really is a win-win for both.

All at Datactics would like to wish the very best of luck to both Brendan and Michael, with this new, exciting adventure!   

For other news about the growth of Datactics please visit this page. Alternatively, you can contact us by clicking here.

Or find us on Linkedin, Twitter or Facebook.

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Gaye Lightbody – Senior Developer 

Gaye decided to chat to us a bit about the transition she experienced between working within education and moving into the technology industry. 

How have you found the transition between working within education and industry?

As the country was going into its first lock-down in March 2020 I was stepping out of an academic job and moving into Datactics as a senior software developer. The excitement of making this switch was only slightly overshadowed by the growing pandemic. Despite the challenges of working from home as a new-start, I was moved by the collegiate ethos within the company and the sense of belonging it instilled in me. Deepening my technical skills during this time has given me great job satisfaction and has galvanised my existing knowledge base. With still a lot to learn about the technologies and products, I am kept pleasantly challenged and fulfilled. Although circumstances have not been easy at times due to the pandemic, it has been a rewarding experience, and I am delighted that I stepped out of my comfort zone last year and embraced this new opportunity. I look forward to a time, hopefully in the not so distant future, when I will be able to sit with my team in a bustling meeting room, drinking coffee while sharing ideas and biscuits!

Daire McCotter – Client Services Support Consultant  

Daire decided to chat to us about her degree background, why she decided to join Datactics and what she most enjoyed about her placement within the company. 

What did you study? 

I studied a bachelor’s degree in Business Information Technology including Professional Experience. I chose this course as I have always been interested in IT and enjoyed studying it in school and therefore wanted to further develop my IT Skills. I also understood the growing reliance businesses had on technology and therefore this course helped greaten my understanding on the application of IT in businesses. Additionally, I enjoyed the balance between the IT and Business modules as it entailed both practical work and therotical studying. 

Why did you join Datactics? 

In my second-year studies I really enjoyed a module called Data and Statistics which involved analysing data and presenting it in certain formats. The role at Datactics that I applied for as a Data Engineer was very appealing to me as it involved this degree of analytics and interpretation. Additionally, when I joined in 2018, Datactics was half the size it is now, and it had a great sense of community with everyone being so welcoming and friendly. To this day, Datactics still holds this great culture which is such a lovely aspect at work. 

What did you enjoy the most about placement? 

An element of my placement that I enjoyed was taking on my own Internal Project. This project was designed to create a solution that would automatically create documentation for my colleague’s work. Also, I loved working with other members in the different teams whether it was for internal projects, support etc. Lastly, applying my own experience and knowledge from using our software tools enabled me to answer our Client support issues and help them resolve any difficulties they were facing. 

Daiva Vencevičiūtė – Data Engineer

Daiva decided to chat to us about how she came across the company, how she joined the company and why she joined! 

How did you come across Datactics?  

It’s a very interesting story! I have an awesome professor (who always has suggestions for students) that told me about a role in the UK. After reading a job description, I thought, why not get in touch? I then proceeded to apply and then an interview was scheduled with Elspeth, Stuart, Ruta, and Josh. I was very nervous, and I was not speaking in my native language! The interview was sometime in October (in Vilnius!) and by the beginning of February, I was in Belfast.   

What did you study?   

I studied a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics. My educational background wasn’t related to Data directly and I have found in my role as a Data Engineer that I have had to learn from the beginning. Having the background knowledge of economics does help but you can learn on the job. I felt incredibly lucky to secure a placement in Belfast.   

Why did you join Datactics?  What attracted you to the role? 

I was keen to travel, and I thought why not go for different opportunities (I knew that one Lithuanian girl was working in Datactics which made me feel more at home.). Stephen and I joined on the same day, so we embarked on learning the capabilities of Flow Designer and DQM together. I remember one of the projects I worked on involved helping Mattias who was working on a LEI based project, and he needed help with manual review. Settling in took a while, but I loved the patience that was ingrained within the team. I was able to learn at my own pace, and I was supported in doing so.   

Helen Long – Finance Manager 

Helen decided to chat to us about what she has most enjoyed about her career at Datactics so far and what her advice would be for those starting out in their career. 

Helen, you’ve been at Datactics for 12 years, what do you enjoy most about it?  

The continually evolving nature of the role is great but also increasingly challenging. The ‘small company’ feel has also been maintained despite substantial growth over the past number of years since I joined. One of the best points of working for a Fintech such as Datactics is that your efforts are noticed, whereas in a larger firm you can often feel like a small cog in a big wheel. It’s been great to watch people join and gradually become managers over time.  

I also enjoy the flexibility the company gives particularly with work/life/family balance. I have a young son, as well as a slightly older daughter so for me having that flexibility at times is necessary to allow me to meet the needs of my children as well as my job.  

What would your biggest advice be for someone who is starting out in their career?  

I would say the most important thing is to feel valued within the company you work in. That has been my experience at Datactics.  Whether you want to move your career along at a fast speed or you want to stay at the level you are at, I think feeling valued in the work you are doing makes the world of difference. 

Thanks so much to Gaye, Daire, Daiva and Helen for sharing with us today. We are proud to have such talented women within our organisation and today we thought we would pull together a piece to celebrate them! Happy International Women’s Day!

Read more ‘Meet our team’ pieces on our DataBlog here.  We also have spoken at length with Helen and Daiva, allowing us to unpack even more.

Tomorrow, Dr Fiona Browne, Head of AI will be contributing to a fantastic panel discussing AI and Ethics, which will be moderated by Ramesh Dontha, Data Transformers. You can register for free here.

Click here for more by Datactics, or find us on Linkedin, Twitter or Facebook for the latest news. 

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It’s Friday…this week was a phenomenally busy one! 

We attended the Global InsurTech Summit 2021, which took place this week from Tuesday to Thursday.

Throughout the 3-day summit, we got to engage with many keynotes, talks and presentations delivered and hosted by experts within the InsurTech industry. It was interesting to unpack what the pain points are within the industry and how processes are changing. 

The virtual summit began with an outlook for insurance technology, followed by presentations on top technologies disrupting the insurance industry, innovations in insurance, and then an exploration into customer expectations. 

On that point, anyone wanting to learn about Datactics’ capabilities within the insurance market feel free to get in touch with Kieran Buchanan.

He will be more than happy to explore how we can be of assistance with our award-winning technology especially in the areas of Data Quality and Matching. One key takeaway of the summit was that “Data quality is imperative within the insurance world, with an increase in fraud across the industry, a shift towards prioritising the end customers’ needs and carriers being forced to reimagine business processes.” We at Datactics provide the technology and the know-how to help bring full confidence to your data quality. Datactics won the Data Quality Analysis Tool award from A-Team Group for the second year running in 2020, adding three major Tier 1 financial clients in New York, Amsterdam and London last year. 

3 ideas to get your people excited about your data! 

This week we also have released a new blog post entitled ‘3 ideas to get your people excited about your data’. We found a great stat that 59 zetabytes of data has been captured, created, copied and consumed worldwide since 2010 (according to Statista) and as result it’s easy to see the problems that arise when even a fraction of that data is incorrect. We curated a blog post designed to help energise, excite and encourage your data people in not one, not two but three ways that are highly easy-to-implement and are guaranteed to help deliver your next data management programme (and truly change your data culture). The tips we established are: 

1. You don’t need to rip and replace your expensive data stack 
2. Boil a kettle, not an ocean 
3. Unleash the power of a fully self-service system 

Do you want to read more and find out exactly what we mean? Read our full blog post here. 

If you would like to continue on the thought thread of rethinking your data quality and make a huge difference to your organisation, you can reach out to the author of this blog post, Matt Flenley on LinkedIn. He would be delighted to continue this conversation. 

To learn more about how how Self-Service Data Quality is the best approach to developing a next-gen data management strategy, check out our webinar from 2020 with key input from CTO, Alex Brown (or read a blog post version here). 

A Trip down memory lane: Video Game Edition 

We thought we would wrap up this blog post with a bit of nostalgia. We recently asked our entire team to name a video game that reminded them of their youth! We received a plethora of responses… with some solid favourites. We would love to get your involved in our DatacticsChat, tell us, what was your favourite video game when you were younger? Will you admit to playing it, or can you even remember it?! 

For more on The Global InsurTech Summit, Data Quality or just a trip down memory lane, find us on Linkedin, Twitter or Facebook for the latest news. 

The post Weekly round-up: from Global InsurTech Summit to getting your people excited about data! appeared first on Datactics.

Matt Flenley, Marketing and Partnerships Manager at Datactics will be speaking this week at The Open University, delivering a talk on Business Ethics.

The talk is going to cover four things:

1. The impact of unintended and cultural bias in machine learning 
2. What to do if your business loses or has no soul
3. Corporate Social Responsibility – Looking after people when the world is upside down
4. The benefits and pitfalls of big corporate machines and rapid growth start-ups when it comes to doing charitable work and being a force for good. 

You can also read Matt’s blogs here such as a piece on AI Ethics he has written about or find out about our people here, explore our open vacancies. If you’re curious about working at Datactics please drop Matt a line on LinkedIn for a chat. 

The post The Open University talk: Business Ethics | 17/02 appeared first on Datactics.