I’m a data and technology consultant originally from London, England, now based on Vancouver Island, Canada.
I started my career in professional theatre as a theatre technician before gradually moving into IT, data and digital strategy.
I’ve worked with several major cultural organisations – most recently as Director of Data & Systems at Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London. During my time there I became a Bloomberg Tech Fellow, taking part in the second cohort of Bloomberg’s Digital Accelerator Programme.
Today, I’m the founder of Datarelle, where I help organisations turn fragmented operational data into trusted reporting, analytics and insight. Datarelle brings together data from the systems organisations already use, creating consistent KPIs, governed data models and dashboards that are easier to understand and act on. It can be delivered as a managed service or built within a client’s own technology environment.
I’m also a Director at Sentive Consulting, where we work with organisations on data, AI and technology strategy. That includes AI and data policy and governance, process improvement and automation, digital systems, and helping organisations work out where new technology will genuinely help – and where it won’t.
My background is deliberately broad. I’ve worked across everything from hands-on support and systems administration to web development, automation, data architecture and organisational strategy. I’m particularly interested in the point where people, processes and technology meet.
A phrase I live by is “Why is it like that? Can it be improved? Is there anything I can do to make it better?”.
I believe that the greatest value an IT professional can provide is being the interface between people needing to get things done and the IT tools and systems that can help them – the tools should fade into the background and let people focus on their goals.
Some examples of that approach can be found in things I’ve written about my work, including my Audience Survey Platform for Cultural Organisations and automating contract generation with Adobe Sign.
There’s a direct line from much of this work into what I now do through Datarelle and Sentive: understanding how organisations actually work, identifying where data or technology can remove friction, and building solutions that are useful, maintainable and proportionate to the problem.
If you’re interested in my data and analytics work, take a look at Datarelle.
For broader work around data, AI, technology strategy, policy and governance, see Sentive Consulting.
You can also find me on LinkedIn, or on Mastodon @infosec.exchange.
Matt Kirby 