This is a profile from the 2022 version of the DataIQ 100.
The latest list is available here.
Fabio Ardossi, partner, Data Reply
What has been your path to power?
In 2012, my keen interest in new technologies led me to create a practice within the Reply group aimed at exploring big data trends and technologies and how they can be used to support enterprises. The potential of our findings during this time made it clear that it was time to take our big data offering to the next level and thus, in 2016, Data Reply was born and we started to develop data science capabilities.
Our growth within the first three years was immense - we grew from a team of 15 to 150 and had firmly cemented ourselves within the Italian market. I then took on a new challenge, a new market and a new team and in 2019 started Data Reply UK. Understanding this new market while manoeuvring through the pandemic and lockdown proved to be a tough challenge, however, we’ve still been able to scale steadily.
Our UK team numbers 40-plus people and we currently consult with 10-plus clients. We are a highly-specialised boutique of data consultants with a passion for data engineering, data science, data analytics, data transformation and lending our voice to social debates within the various data communities.
What impact has the pandemic had on demand from your clients?
As a cross-sector consulting company, we’ve seen some businesses bloom, while unfortunately others have struggled to survive. It brought about a commonality between our clients in that there was now a focus on data and its role in shaping their businesses future. We received various requests from our clients, such as reviewing predictive models to adapt to behavioral changes, dealing with a massive influx of digital customer interactions, etc. There was now a general consensus that for your business to succeed it was imperative for you to understand the importance of operationalising data and machine learning to be effective, even from the most sceptical of companies.
Do you get a seat at your clients’ strategic discussions? If not, what will it take to get you there?
We are a boutique company with innovation at its core and often we sit together with our clients to discuss strategic areas we can develop. Strategy is derived from passion and requires one to dissect a client’s needs and transform them into their vision for the future – not an easy task! At Data Reply, we make sure our clients are aware that it’s not just about having the newest and coolest technologies, but also about ensuring that data is used in a way that is both effective and, of course, as ethical and responsible as possible.
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