In their lovely office, right next to the Prinsengracht, we met with Maarten de Schipper; partner at Xomnia. At the Smart City Expo World Congress in Barcelona, Xomnia will be one of the companies you should definitely meet. Read here why!
What is Xomnia’s core business?
Maarten: we see ourselves as the big data partner. No matter what your organization is doing, it is likely that your business will make use of big data in the future. With our specific skill set, we consult, train, or assist in developing specific tools by which you can analyse big data. We strive to share knowledge wherever we can, have a real impact on your business and ever emphasize on innovation. In short: we make your company data-driven.
To give an example of one initiative: in 2015, we supported the municipality of Utrecht through co-developing a tool that predicts burglary in different neighbourhoods of the city.
Who do you partner with?
In our company, we believe that it is not the size that matters. We, therefore, work with big or small organizations; locally, regionally or globally active. Although we are a relatively young company (founded in 2013), we have a vast network. Within our network, we share the developments of big data and provide tips and tops, do’s and don’ts. It is our mission to realize data-driven innovation globally. To kickstart this, we hope to establish our first foreign office next year, perhaps in Barcelona.
What do you hope to achieve during the Smart City Expo?
We hope to meet both future partners and other international businesses that operate in the same field. With them we would like to exchange experiences, best cases and worst cases, to become inspired by each other. We also want to share our experience with BigDataGemeenten (BigDataMunicipalities): a platform that connects Dutch municipalities through a series of events.
How do you prepare for the Expo?
We believe that work should also be fun. That is why we are flying in on Saturday to have a little Spanish fiesta, and take Sunday to explore Barcelona with some good tapas or paella. For the Expo, we divided clear roles in our team. For international relations and business-to-government, Kaj Gruppelaar is our man. Lisanne Rijnveld will seek opportunities to present Xomnia by holding short and powerful pitches, and I [Maarten de Schipper] hope to meet with city government officials and see how our solutions can contribute to solving their problems.
Want to get to know Xomnia better? Visit their website and come to the Holland Pavilion at the World Expo Smart Cities in Barcelona, held from the 14th to the 16th of November.
