Last Wednesday was a busy day at the Xomnia office. We had guests over from Your Legacy Academy, who were looking to learn more about the world of Big Data. We were happy to help, so we held a workshop on the possibilities of Big Data and the vision of our company. Joost Toornend, one of the students, describes his experience in a blog post:
Another day at Your Legacy Academy
The day started early, as usual, with a very interesting and somewhat shocking impact of “Big Data”. Frans Feldberg introduced himself and started to tell us what world we live in today. He passionately told us about the harvesting of Big Data and the endless possibilities of algorithms. At first I was a bit naive but as his presentation proceeded I was intrigued and shocked. These were exactly the subjects that matter and that are missing in my normal education.
Frans Feldberg told us a lot but did it in the most interactive way by asking questions, giving quotes and showing video’s. After the presentation I looked at the other students and saw that I was not the only one being amazed.
Erno did not give us very much time to process it because within a heartbeat we were heading to Amsterdam. Like blindfolded men we were routed to a company called Xomnia. Surprise! There we were, inside a very comfortable but impressive office in the beating heart of Amsterdam. Ollie, the managing partner, introduced himself and asked us to do the same. After the “check-in”, Ollie revealed the business models and vision of his company. For the second time in one day I was amazed. He told us that they were building software to use information in the broadest ways possible. I immediately started fantasizing what kind of endless possibilities this fantastic company has. Ollie told us they had prepared lunch and while having lunch Ollie talked about the task of today.
We had to think of business models for some products of the company. We were told that we had 2,5 hours to come up with a model and pitch it to Ollie. So after making groups we went to a sunny place along one of the beautiful canals of Amsterdam. We talked, brainstormed, and built while enjoying the sun in the capital city. At 16:15h we came back to the office to do the pitch. I immediately could tell that the company is growing by the minute. Everyone was still busy and focused. It definitely was a vibrant atmosphere.
So our time had come to present. We had a straight forward plan and within 10 minutes we were done. Ollie told us that these solutions were something they had been thinking off as well. So I guess we were thinking within the right direction. Not bad for a couple of students who knew nothing about big data, 6 hours before! I learned a lot today and thanks to the enthusiasm of Frans, Ollie and all the employees of Xomnia, I was able to grasp a little of the big possibilities of their world.
Thank you!
It was a productive day, and we would like to thank everyone involved for their insights and hard work. We hope we have been able to provide you with some real-world examples of Big Data applications, and we wish you good luck in your future endeavors!