In 2014, the landscape of big data was just beginning to take shape. Laura Haldane had just joined Analytics Engines and was looking at ways to get people talking about Big Data and to build the company’s brand.
She and the team launched Big Data Belfast - then as now, a conference aimed at unlocking the potential of data for businesses. Fast forward to 2024, and the event celebrates its 10th anniversary, marking a significant milestone in the journey of data innovation.
In an interview with Sync NI, Laura reflects on the challenges of those early days, the parallels with today’s excitement around artificial intelligence, and her ongoing commitment to education and inspiration in the tech community.
Laura is now the co-founder and VP of Sales and Marketing at SciLeads, one the fastest growing tech start-ups on the island with 100 professionals on the team. As a marketing intelligence platform for the scientific sector they provide scientific organisations with tools to enhance their sales processes and market outreach.
Reflecting on that first event at Titanic Belfast back in 2014, Laura suggests that while the technology has advanced significantly, the core mission of educating and inspiring businesses to leverage data remains as relevant as ever.
“When I look back at the start of Big Data, throwing up that WordPress site, and how pernickety that was. I could get an AI to throw up a template now and the whole thing would take just minutes and not hours,” she said. “The tooling is so much better, and it’s much easier to test out new tech. My feeling is that businesses are ready for change and business practitioners are empowered to take action, they really want to be inspired and to be shown the art of the possible - just as we did in 2014.”
There are many parallels between the Big Data Belfast of 2014 and the Big Data Belfast of 2024, according to Laura.
“Like Big Data in 2014, people know they could be doing more, but they don't really know how. With AI in 2024, people know they should be using it but they really aren't sure how - so seeing examples of how others have utilised the tech really will be invaluable,” she said.
The aggregation and exploitation of data is a long-running theme for Laura. Data and AI are core components to the SciLeads platform. The company integrates various data sources, including funding, publications, and tradeshow information, to create a robust lead generation platform for customers involved in academia and R&D.
Reflecting back on the first conference, Laura recalls how challenging it was bringing the agenda to life. Particularly, as only a small portion of companies considered themselves to be a big data company.
“Finding speakers when we started, it was very difficult. The field was still emerging and few really felt qualified to speak on the topic. The event still attracts a lot of speakers outside of Northern Ireland, but we now have scores of really authoritative, home-grown domain experts living and working inside the region. You don’t need to look far beyond the island to curate a world-class agenda, which was definitely not the case back when Big Data started.”
The event was initially created to educate the business community on the benefits of exploiting data.
“We had to convince companies and stakeholders why data was relevant,” she says. “Every discussion had to start with an introduction to data, why you should collect it and try to point it at business problems. To some degree, any firm I interact with closely now is using core analytics techniques and drawing value from data is an absolute staple for all companies of all sizes.”
The founding mission of Big Data Belfast is to ‘educate, inform and inspire’. A mantra which, again, has carried Laura through subsequent phases of her career. Laura leads the sales and marketing efforts at Scileads, and the company has seen significant successes. Not least, being in the Deloitte Fast 50 Technology Award three years running where Laura also won the ‘Women in Technology Advocate Award’.
“For me, the ‘inspire’ element is the most important thing and taking joy out of showcasing cool stuff is something I carried through into SciLeads. Every month we have our team meeting, and everyone shares examples of good practice in AI and how it’s been used to create efficiencies in their jobs. Big Data Belfast is doing that at a larger scale, but the same principle of sharing and learning applies,” says Laura.
Data enthusiasts, industry leaders, and innovators will converge on the ICC Belfast on Wednesday October 23rd for an event that has grown in significance since its inception. Over the past 10 years, Big Data Belfast has become a key platform for exploring the latest trends in data, AI, and technology, with local innovators and foreign direct investment (FDI) companies actively participating. This year's event, supported by headline sponsor EY, promises to be one of the most impactful yet, with a strong focus on generative AI and its transformative potential.
Tickets for the event can be purchased at http://www.bigdatabelfast.com.
