With Irion, you can trust your data. Here is why

Monday, 25 January 2021

Alberto Scavino’s speech at Fattore I – New scenarios and business models for SMEs by Banca IFIS and Il Sole 24 Ore

In front of us there is a nebula, a galaxy of data. We need to look at them one by one, validate, clean and filter them, remove the noise and disturbances. We need to be like scientists looking at the sky. It looks all the same, but in reality it isn’t that way. So, what do they see? Do they know what to look for? Do they know where to look?

Companies invest a lot into data science. But can they identify and govern their data? Can they prepare them for data scientists? Isn’t the key role often absent in these processes? Who constructs the tools and prepares the data? Data Engineers play a key role. Every company is a factory of data. And Data Engineers make it possible to use the data efficiently with the help of Irion EDM, the Enterprise Data Management platform.

Our aim is to help govern data, create and disseminate information, and generate business value. We started with banks and insurance companies, organizations subject to supervision and hence with strict requirements on data quality and richness. Then we expanded to other industry sectors.

Apart from the product itself, our strength is in the customization of services

The dialog with the Customer and personalization are key factors of success. Irion EDM is a platform, a technology, and not a specialized vertical product. That is why the solutions realized by us, our partners or Customers are truly “tailor-made”, i.e. they perfectly correspond to the ever more challenging business needs. Guaranteeing our Customers “close” support in projects and in daily use has been a winning factor. In addition to the technical competences, we provide many functional skills, gained in the experience of many projects. We are there for the Customer whether it comes to analyzing the needs or to daily processes management. And we speak their language.

Competing with giants, we take everything as a challenge – and find it a very entertaining one. We like to challenge Goliaths. We have a formidable weapon, a very effective sling. Our platform that has no equivalents on the market is a product with innovative features and approaches. And they allow us to win even arduous challenges. Our Customers really appreciate that we are close to them, competent, and quick to reply (exactly because we are no giants).

You come to Irion to get a beautiful fabric, which is our platform, and have a perfectly tailored dress made of it. It is exactly the fabric that is essential. If you make a dress out of rags, not even the best tailor in the world would be able to make miracles of it.

Looking at our future: product research and development

Future comes from constant innovation and development of the platform, especially regarding ML/AI in a Cloud environment. The Data Management market has grown and will continue to grow in the double figures in the coming years. It is absolutely necessary to make investments in order to keep the pace and be ahead of competitors.

On average, we invest in research, development and training over 20% of our revenues. This year we have also made important investments and continued hiring even during the lockdown period. 13 new employees joined us since September. This is not an easy period for introducing new people into a company where teamwork and collaboration are crucial. But technology helps us in this aspect, too.

The importance of human capital

Our capital is human resources and competences. Our aim is to have people waking up willing to work with passion for Irion. This is the only way to success. To achieve this result, we need to invest on various levels:

continuing education: we have a training program called Irion Skill-up and a Knowledge Award Program for monetary recognition of certifications and competences achieved.
an informal working environment with gyms, showers and kitchens (when one could use them), and work style that actually included working from home already before Covid.
attention to personal and family needs: from little things (distributing masks for everyone in early April when they were difficult to find) to psychological support to those who need it, flexible hours for a better balance between family needs and work goals, up to insurance coverage for COVID-19.
for families with children we have a support plan Irion for Family, i.e. corporate welfare scheme that includes a birth financial aid and then, for each year and for each child, annual contributions of €2,500 when they are at kindergarten and scaling up until they graduate from the university. All this is genuinely appreciated by young families with small children – and in fact, the birth rate is quite high.
we never forget the community around us. Our hashtag is #AiutiamoChiAiuta (we help those who help). In March, we donated €50,000 for the purchase of the specialized monitors for the San Giovanni Battista (Molinette) University Hospital in Turin. At the end of the year, we make a donation to support community initiatives and non-profit organizations that help those who are less fortunate than us.
Finally, the Irion vs Covid project provides free licence of our product to non-profit institutions and universities