Fibonacci, the Red Olive data podcast Red Olive

In this episode of Fibonacci: the Red Olive Data Podcast, we chat to social housing data expert Barry McNulty from Epictetus Solutions. We discuss Barry's journey from an economics degree and early career in social housing, to becoming a senior leader in data management. Barry shares how better data analysis can provide evidence-based, data-driven decision making in social housing, and the importance of both data governance and cooperation between housing associations. He also gives his perspective on the potential of machine learning in housing and touches on the increasingly important role of data in regulatory requirements.

In this episode of Fibonacci, the Red Olive Data Podcast, we interview James Gardiner, head of data technology for Admiral Group. James has 25 years of experience working with data and has been at Admiral for the past seven years, recently managing its move to the cloud.
We chat about the importance of applying an engineering mindset to data projects, data governance, the art of the possible and more in a wide-ranging chat.
Here are the topics we discuss with their timecodes:
How James got into data engineering (1m)The importance of emphasising an engineering mentality to data teams (6m 9s)Giving people the data to make good decisions, including live streams and integrating it with sales processes (7m 17s)Understanding customers to give them the best price, while balancing risk (9m)Scoping a project and getting both the right people and architecture in place (10m 35s)The importance of “the why” of a project (12m 42s)Security is one of the cloud’s biggest risks: how to manage that with good governance (14m)Training a young team to respond well when things go wrong (17m)Applying machine learning to monitoring (19m)Mesh architecture and ML Ops (20m 18s)Communicating well with your team and re-using code (24m 30s)Using data governance as an enabler, rather than a blocker (27m 50s)Learning from Red Olive (31m)The important skills for people to learn, and data automation (33m 18s)

David Grainger is as reinsurance statistician with MS Amlin, an insurance company that is a leader in the property, marine and reinsurance markets. He has worked in the IT and data space for several years and has been at MS Amlin for the past 12.
David joins us on this episode of Fibonacci, the Red Olive data podcast to talk about the challenges around data in insurance in what is a very conservative industry.
We also discuss where the opportunities are for businesses like MS Amlin that want to use analytics and insights to future-proof their technology investments and bring reporting and business value to the entire organisation.
Here are the topics we discuss with their timecodes:
The challenges that the technology teams have to keep up with the pace of change in the business (2m 53s)The journey from disparate systems to a single, enterprise-wide platform (6m 6s)Difficulties in delivering a single platform when there are many individual programmes going on (7m 59s)Dangers of projects that are delivered in silos, and a ‘business as usual’ approach (8m 49s)Becoming a data-led business when you have multiple, business intelligence tools (12m)How the hub and spoke model works for the organisation (14m 26s)Tying the Wherescape, Infosphere and reporting platforms together so regulators can see evidence that there is good governance of personal data (14m 57s)Improving fraud catching capabilities (17m 11s)Becoming leaner to be fitter for the future (18m 22s)What to do when programmes don’t deliver their aspirations (20m 27s)Moving to the cloud, future-proofed by the Wherescape tool, and working with Red Olive (21m 33s)The effect of Brexit on the business, and moving data when the data is in multiple systems (26m 51s)The skills a data professional will need entering the industry (30m)

Today on Fibonacci, the Red Olive data podcast, we talk to Simon Benham, Head of Data Strategy at Catalyst Housing, one of the UK’s leading housing providers in London and the Home Counties. It is now part of the Peabody Group, responsible for 104,000 homes, with around 220,000 residents across London, Kent, Sussex and the Home Counties.
Simon’s background until he moved to Catalyst was in data governance in the finance sector. But is working in a housing association completely different, or does he face similar issues? 
Here are the topics we discuss with their timecodes:
The differences and similarities between the financial services and social housing sectors (55s)How data can help deal with the shortage of affordable homes (3m 10s)Getting data into one place and improving the quality of data (3m 30s)Staying focussed and engaged while dealing with the background of a merger (4m 50s)Dealing with the audit and risk committee (7m 30s)Who to involve when planning a data project and ensuring data quality (12m 10s)Biggest challenges and opportunities when using data in the housing space (15m 20s)Understanding customers through data, leading to a better service (17m 37s)Approaching the integration of two companies’ systems (19m 18s)How to communicate best during a data project (21m 10s)Challenging those who hide behind the GDPR (25m)Using data to improve sustainability (27m)

Hello and welcome to Fibonacci, the Red Olive data podcast, all about data and analytics where we hear from leading specialists and get their take on the industry. We are joined today by Simon Hopkins, Director of Resources at Blind Veterans UK. This provides free support and services to vision-impaired, ex-Armed Forces and National Service personnel. 
Simon has previously held a variety of roles in the third sector at CFO, CEO and COO levels and started his career in professional practice, qualifying as a chartered accountant with KPMG in London. 
Simon is a regular columnist for Charity Finance magazine, publishes and speaks regularly on subjects ranging from financial sustainability to digital disruption. 
Here are the main topics of conversation with their timecodes:
Learning how to rethink the relationship between money and data when moving to the charity sector (3m)Understanding that the customer is more sophisticated and multi-layered in the charity sector than people think (4m 41s)Integrating data, and the idea of one platform going out of fashion (6m)How important it is for a single view of data at the top is in bringing an organisation with you (6m 52s)Simon’s work at Blind Veterans (10m)Formulating a data strategy (11m 28s)Connecting with other organisations to help the vulnerable (16m)Data-rich solutions that could connect multiple sources into a marketplace of help (22m)Thinking of the GDPR as an asset (27m 44s)Where a marketplace of help could emerge from (31m)A map of veterans’ needs and how it helps anticipate what their future needs will be (33m)Using data from patients’ smartphones to help determine when interventions are needed (34m)The skills that you need to enter a career in the data industry (40m)Working strategically with Red Olive (44m)

Welcome to the latest episode of Fibonacci, the Red Olive data podcast where we speak to Carly Lund. Carly is the Chief Digital and Data Officer at YSC Consulting, a boutique professional services firm that specialises in leadership consulting. YSC helps organisations identify and develop the leaders they need to achieve their business strategies and it has been working on a massive programme of data work.
A chartered psychologist, Carly has a proven record of building, developing and leading global consulting teams that design and implement talent management solutions. We chat about the sophisticated data modelling and data science programme of work for which Carly is responsible at YSC, how automation has improved her organisation’s data quality by 100% and how data is opening new services and solutions for YSC's future business strategy.
Here are the topics with their time codes:
How data has interacted with psychology in the past (2m 03s)Integrating data with YSC’s services and building data assets (4m 54s)Bringing the organisation with you while implementing change (7m 38s)How Covid and clients have driven transformation (11m 53s)The importance of repeating and reenforcing your messages (14m 36s)Building workflows to capture data consistently to build data sets (15m 09s)Using existing data to build efficiencies and improve services (16m 52s)The importance of using external data consultants (21m 54s)Benefits of data-driven conversations with clients (24m 10s)Excitement around personalisation of services (25m 44s)The future role of data in understanding people in organisations (27m 44s)When people are happy to provide data, and when they are not (30m 29s)Marrying data skills with commercial ability (33m 0s)Skills that the leaders of the future will need to thrive (34m 30s)