Wide range of services

Under Dr. Maarten Vanhoof's leadership, Craftzing will rapidly grow its expertise center in data, AI, and machine learning to 30 specialists. Craftzing's data team guides clients on three fronts: strategic advice and management consultancy, enhancement of data usage, and exploration of the possibilities offered by responsible AI and machine learning. To accomplish this, Craftzing has built an experienced team over the past year, consisting of data scientists, data visualizers, data engineers, data protection officers, and information security specialists. The various data experts collaborate in a multidisciplinary manner with Craftzing's business strategists, designers, engineers, and inclusion experts.

Craftzing intentionally develops an expertise center to offer a broad range of data services. A must, according to Dr. Maarten Vanhoof: "This broad approach is necessary as  data or AI projects have complex needs. You’ll have to cover various expertise areas in order to make it a success, including technology, legal aspects, knowledge of analytical techniques, and more. Crucially, at Craftzing we ensure that our experts work closely with client-side teams. To us, supporting the client's domain knowledge with the right Craftzing experts is the key to success."

Data is still a challenge

Increasingly, organizations are investing in data sources and technologies to drive innovation. The recent advent of generative AI is just one of these innovations enabled by machine learning. Nevertheless the technological progress, effectively harnessing data remains a significant challenge:

"Each data project requires a vision, a well-thought-out data strategy, and the technical expertise to execute that strategy. It is not a straightforward task. On top of that, it’s not easy for our clients to find or build a team that combines the right expertise and experience. That is why we strongly emphasize the team-as-a-service (TaaS) model: with our teams, clients can rely on a broad range of expertise," says Dr. Maarten Vanhoof.

"There is a lot of uncertainty in the Belgian market regarding the possibilities of AI and data. We have observed that business leaders can develop a vision around data but struggle to sharpen that vision and translate it to the teams that need to implement it. This is partly due to a lack of strategic guidance and the absence of an expertise center grounded in practical experience. With Craftzing Data, we aim to make a difference in this regard," adds Roeland Tegenbos, CEO of Craftzing. 

Specifically for business leaders and executive management, Craftzing provides masterclasses on big data, machine learning, GDPR, and the Data Governance Act. This allows business leaders to develop the necessary practical and theoretical insights to design more well-founded data strategies.

No AI without IA

Artificial intelligence is advancing rapidly. Organizations can derive two benefits from AI in the long term: increased productivity and the ability to make better decisions for so-called “wicked problems”. These are problems that are so complex that they surpass human cognitive abilities. Think of predictive analytics, complex audits, digital twin simulation models, or personalized services for users. What’s often overlooked is that artificial intelligence is only as strong as the underlying data or information architecture (IA) on which the intelligence is built. Therefore, AI is not possible without IA.

Roeland Tegenbos, CEO of Craftzing, says: "Having direct access to high-quality data remains the number one concern for all organizations that want to leverage AI. There’s a growing awareness among companies and organizations that they need to focus more on digital trust. They understand that establishing a trusted relationship with their customers becomes more important if they want sufficient access to data, including confidential and sensitive data. They also recognize the seriousness of digital security and acknowledge that they still have significant progress to make in that area. With Craftzing's data team, we have all the expertise necessary to support our clients in these areas and accelerate their growth."

By Michele Stynen

Digital Marketeer