Blog

Discover a wealth of data innovation and expertise within the Oakland blog hub – equipping you with all the latest industry knowledge to help your business get the most from its data.

Post A data scientists view of Big Data LDN 2019

A data scientists view of Big Data LDN 2019

Anyone who’s read The Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy, or seen the film, will know the seminal quote “Space is big. Really big. You just won’t believe how vastly hugely mindbogglingly big it is.”. Well apparently, space has a new competitor for sheer size, and that’s data! Every year a mass of people descends on…

Post What’s it like to work at The Oakland Group?

What’s it like to work at The Oakland Group?

Hey! My name is Kevin and I am a Data Scientist working at the Oakland Group in Leeds. Having recently joined the development team at the beginning of October, I am excited to share my experiences as a new member of the Oakland team. Three facts about me: I have a PhD in Mathematics that…

Post Murray Leach set to speak at Big Data London

Murray Leach set to speak at Big Data London

We’re pleased to announce that Murray Leach, Head of Systems and Support at Network Rail Infrastructure will be joining us at BDL at 12.30 pm on 13th November in the Fast Data Theatre, talking about “The key to unlocking the data in your enterprise system – a real-world journey” Murray will take us through his…

Post Spark + AI Summit Europe 2019 – The Highlights

Spark + AI Summit Europe 2019 – The Highlights

Last week I attended the Spark + AI Summit Europe 2019 in Amsterdam, whilst a few days in Amsterdam raised mentions of ‘jolly’ and ‘mini-breaks’ with the team this couldn’t have been further from the truth. With over 2,000 avid Spark users from all over Europe gathered together to get the latest updates and detailed…

Post Building an effective data team

Building an effective data team

We recently attended the Northern Data Forum where the big issue being discussed was what it takes to build an effective data team. Dave Naylor, CTO of ResearchBods and Heather Dawe, Lead Data Scientist at Hiscox UK talked about their experiences of doing just that. It was really insightful, so we thought we’d share some…

Post Oakland goes to Pycon

Oakland goes to Pycon

Python is often touted as one of the fasted growing programming languages (https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2018/07/26/python-is-becoming-the-worlds-most-popular-coding-language), with a myriad of applications such as web development, cybersecurity and of course data science & analytics. Whilst a number of different coding languages are utilised by members of The Oakland Group, depending on the scenario, the majority of the team can…

Post The key to unlocking your Oracle data

The key to unlocking your Oracle data

Data is nothing new. Long before the ‘Big Data’ explosion, businesses were producing and storing their data. The problem for those with large enterprise systems still in place is extracting that data so they can get the maximum benefit from it today. It can be a painful process. Having recently been set that challenge by…

Post Join our data strategy workshop

Join our data strategy workshop

Is your data strategy aligned to your business strategy? 86% of senior executives agree than eliminating organisational silos is critical to expanding the use of data and analytics in decision making. (Google Research) Leading companies such as Amazon, Walmart, Google, LinkedIn, Microsoft and Netflix use data is almost every business decision. Most of these organisations…

Post Extracting maximum value from your data and analytics

Extracting maximum value from your data and analytics

Have you started on your data journey but struggling to break through the hype and fit the disparate parts of the data puzzle together to deliver the digital success you hoped for?  The Oakland Group’s Richard Corderoy delves into the real world of big data.   Are companies getting better at putting their data houses…

Post The Oakland Group at PyCon!

The Oakland Group at PyCon!

The Oakland team are super excited to be heading to Cardiff this September to attend this year’s PyCon, the annual celebration of everything Python (the swiss army knife of programming). Here at the Oakland Group we’re super passionate about technical excellence and we’re continually learning, always looking to push the boundaries of what is achievable….

Post News from the CDO Exchange

News from the CDO Exchange

So another year down. Another CDO Exchange attended. It was another great event hosted by IPQC, and as usual, most of it went without a hitch (apart from the accidental coffee spill over our table!). Many people we met have an increased level of ‘data maturity’ compared to only a year ago. It seems that the…

Post Oakland’s Mike Turner and Hiab’s Tobias Bunne set to speak at BQF Leadership Conference

Oakland’s Mike Turner and Hiab’s Tobias Bunne set to speak at BQF Leadership Conference

Do you want to be an effective leader? Join us on Thursday 28th March at the BQF Leadership Conference where Mike Turner will be speaking with Hiab’s Tobias Bunne. We’ll be covering the key aspects of quality leadership and who better to give their insight than the winner of the Quality Organisation of the Year…