ORTEC Consulting appoints co-leads for Big Data unit

ORTEC Consulting Group has appointed Steven van Dijk and Patrick Hennen as co-leads of its Big Data and Analytics practice. Hennen will focus mainly on client development, while Van Dijk will primarily be responsible for software development and the use of analytics tools.

Big Data has in recent years developed into one of the largest buzz words in the business landscape. Through the rise of technological advances humanity can now with relative ease identify, capture and store billions of data points, and with data comes the next step in the value chain: commercialisation of its potential. To successfully be able to translate data to value (management) information, organisations rely on new techniques and tools, as well as advanced analytics. According to a study from McKinsey & Company, the commercial value of Big Data is, if the potential is successfully realised, set to be breath-taking, and will amount to trillions in economic value.

For consulting firms, Big Data represents one of the most novel, but also high-growth areas within the industry. As a result, consultancies from practically all segments of the market are gravitating their services portfolios to include or blend in Big Data offerings and expertise. Whether it are large IT-players such as Accenture and Capgemini, professional services firms such as the Big 4 and BDO, or the strategy consultancies such as BCG and Strategy&, in recent years significant strides have been made to capitalise on the Big Data hype.

For ORTEC Consulting Group, a Dutch-headquartered consulting firm with 5 other offices across the globe, analytics has since its early days been a core focal point of its DNA. Founded in 1981, the firm has a strong heritage in Operations Research, Mathematics, Analytics, Big Data and Software Engineering, and therefore stood at the forefront of the analytics and Big Data revolution. ORTEC Consulting Group supports companies with the design of analytics strategies, as well as serving as implementation partner and in some cases a trusted technology support advisor. Clients include global corporates such as Ahold, BP, Heineken, Ikea and Shell, and mid-sized firms.

In a press release, ORTEC Consulting Group has announced that it has put forward a new leadership team for its Big Data and Analytics practice. The business advisory has installed two leaders who jointly will co-lead the unit: Patrick Hennen and Steven van Dijk. Hennen has been with ORTEC since 2002, and serves as Director of Advanced Analytics & Solutions. Van Dijk joined ORTEC in 2004 after a spell as PhD Student and Researcher at the University of Utrecht, and currently holds the position of Manager of Technology & Innovation. In the their joint responsibility Hennen and Van Dijk are tasked with further expanding ORTEC’s footprint in the landscape, both in the Netherlands and internationally.

Asked for how ORTEC Consulting Group will be able to distinguish itself in the heating marketplace, the co-leads point at what they believe is a unique approach. “Big Data can be defined by 4 Vs: Volume, Velocity, Variety, and Veracity. At ORTEC, we also apply an ABC approach: Analytics, Business and Computer Science. The interplay between analytics techniques, relevant business knowledge and strong computing power is crucial in the world of Big Data and analytics,” comments Hennen, relating to the fact that the firm can build on a track record in all three areas.

Hennen and Van Dijk succeed John Poppelaars, who last month moved to consultancy BearingPoint, where he heads the firm’s Smart Analytics and Business Intelligence team in the Netherlands.