Interview with Damien Gaioni: Business Intelligence

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With more than 8 years’ experience in Data, Damien Gaioni, Data Lead at Bmatix in Luxembourg, describes how data reporting has evolved in the Luxembourg market. He shares his opinion on the true challenge faced by companies: making data even more accessible, with real-time availability. His vision is that, in years to come, Data will be geared entirely towards the user and the barrier between IT and Business will disappear.

With more than 8 years’ experience in Data, Damien Gaioni, Data Lead at Bmatix in Luxembourg, describes how data reporting has evolved in the Luxembourg market. He shares his opinion on the true challenge faced by companies: making data even more accessible, with real-time availability. His vision is that, in years to come, Data will be geared entirely towards the user and the barrier between IT and Business will disappear.

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Q: What is Business Intelligence (BI)?

Damien: BI is a set of software and services for using data and transforming it into information to help decision-makers and users in their decision-making processes.

It is also referred to as a decision-support system, even though this term refers to the technical aspect. This concept is a clever mix of the technology that serves the user and the users responsible for data modelling.

The central element of BI is the data warehouse. This repository for storing data in a structured and chronological way is used, subsequently, for reporting activities and dashboard creation.

Q: Has it changed much in recent years?

Damien: BI has evolved dramatically with the increase in volumes and the growing number of data formats to be managed and integrated into decision-making systems. Another major change involves the needs of the users, who are increasingly grasping the potential of BI platforms.

Self-service analytics continues to progress, making users increasingly autonomous and accelerating report availability. This is leading to requirements for data provision in quasi-real time, with all the technical constraints that this entails.

It has been evident for a number of years that Machine Learning projects allow a more in-depth experience in the field of data exploration, including predictive analysis, data and image classification and the automation of certain tasks.

In terms of data visualisation, there is a new trend emerging: Data Storytelling. This involves personalising the data exploration experience by telling a story linked to the user (e.g. a finance director will have a different experience from an operations manager).

Q: What are the main problems experienced by companies in managing and exploiting their data?

Damien: In the course of my work, I have observed that responsibility for data is assigned to DBA or developer professionals (individuals with Data knowledge). There is a lack of pure Data professionals, such as Data Analysts, Data Engineers or Data Architects. These individuals bring experience and knowledge in the fields of data and governance and, on a practical note, they offer genuine added value and can facilitate project delivery.

With the development of formats, tools and concepts (Big Data, Datalake, Machine Learning, etc.), it is important to be able to structure data platform creation and development projects. Understanding the intricacies and the best practice in this area is a significant challenge but it helps to optimise the installation and use of the tools, resulting in smoother data access.

Another major change is the introduction of data governance. The process of appointing roles and responsibilities now involves a number of elements, such as security, data recording, quality, storage and integration.

Q: What is best practice in data democratisation?

Damien: In my view, organising information logically, so that it is easy to use, is the best way to make data accessible to as many people as possible. Tools such as Power BI offer self-service accessibility, meaning that anyone with minimal knowledge can easily create reports or dashboards. As an emerging player in this market, Bmatix is today structuring its expertise by creating a multi-technology Data skills centre to meet the needs of the market.

Q: What is the added value for the company?

Damien: Harnessing data has become a strategic priority for any business wishing to improve both its performance and the impact of the decisions taken within the company. Improving the storytelling experience in the business world will go a long way towards meeting the needs of users.

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Q: What is Business Intelligence (BI)?

Damien: BI is a set of software and services for using data and transforming it into information to help decision-makers and users in their decision-making processes.

It is also referred to as a decision-support system, even though this term refers to the technical aspect. This concept is a clever mix of the technology that serves the user and the users responsible for data modelling.

The central element of BI is the data warehouse. This repository for storing data in a structured and chronological way is used, subsequently, for reporting activities and dashboard creation.

Q: Has it changed much in recent years?

Damien: BI has evolved dramatically with the increase in volumes and the growing number of data formats to be managed and integrated into decision-making systems. Another major change involves the needs of the users, who are increasingly grasping the potential of BI platforms.

Self-service analytics continues to progress, making users increasingly autonomous and accelerating report availability. This is leading to requirements for data provision in quasi-real time, with all the technical constraints that this entails.

It has been evident for a number of years that Machine Learning projects allow a more in-depth experience in the field of data exploration, including predictive analysis, data and image classification and the automation of certain tasks.

In terms of data visualisation, there is a new trend emerging: Data Storytelling. This involves personalising the data exploration experience by telling a story linked to the user (e.g. a finance director will have a different experience from an operations manager).

Q: What are the main problems experienced by companies in managing and exploiting their data?

Damien: In the course of my work, I have observed that responsibility for data is assigned to DBA or developer professionals (individuals with Data knowledge). There is a lack of pure Data professionals, such as Data Analysts, Data Engineers or Data Architects. These individuals bring experience and knowledge in the fields of data and governance and, on a practical note, they offer genuine added value and can facilitate project delivery.

With the development of formats, tools and concepts (Big Data, Datalake, Machine Learning, etc.), it is important to be able to structure data platform creation and development projects. Understanding the intricacies and the best practice in this area is a significant challenge but it helps to optimise the installation and use of the tools, resulting in smoother data access.

Another major change is the introduction of data governance. The process of appointing roles and responsibilities now involves a number of elements, such as security, data recording, quality, storage and integration.

Q: What is best practice in data democratisation?

Damien: In my view, organising information logically, so that it is easy to use, is the best way to make data accessible to as many people as possible. Tools such as Power BI offer self-service accessibility, meaning that anyone with minimal knowledge can easily create reports or dashboards. As an emerging player in this market, Bmatix is today structuring its expertise by creating a multi-technology Data skills centre to meet the needs of the market.

Q: What is the added value for the company?

Damien: Harnessing data has become a strategic priority for any business wishing to improve both its performance and the impact of the decisions taken within the company. Improving the storytelling experience in the business world will go a long way towards meeting the needs of users.

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