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Building Blocks appointed Cool Vendor in IT Services by Gartner

Amsterdam, 15 October 2019 - Building Blocks, specialist in the field of data science and machine learning solutions for retailers and insurers, has been appointed Cool Vendor by Gartner. Building Blocks is one of the three companies worldwide that have been recognized by Gartner as Cool Vendor in the Cool Vendors in IT Services report1.

The business model of the Dutch Building Blocks consists of a combination of consultancy and customizable software, or the blocks, for insurers and retailers. These are pieces of reusable data science software that, for each customer in a different composition, together with customised solutions, lead to a solution that allows the customer to distinguish himself from competitors. A quick implementation is guaranteed by this way of working.

Scarcity of data scientists


There is an increasing demand for data scientists and the gap between supply and demand is widening. IBM expects the demand for data scientists to increase even further by 28 percent in 2020. Data Science ServWare offers a solution. ServWare combines the best of consultancy and software, with standardized pieces of software based on co-creation supplemented with customer-specific customization. Implementations are therefore faster than with traditional consultancy and the solutions are better integrated with the existing infrastructure and business objectives than with standard software. This form of asset-based consultancy requires less specific in-house data science knowledge and enables citizen data scientists to work with it. This term was introduced by Gartner and refers to data scientists with less in-depth technological knowledge.

Alexander van Eerden, CEO of Building Blocks: "For us it is a great step to get the Cool Vendor stamp. We believe this proves that our transformation from consultancy to ServWare has been a successful journey. I am pleased with this recognition and very proud of what our team has achieved. The creation of our unique block structure started in 2015, because we wanted to minimize repetition in our work and had the strong will to continuously focus on improving the added value of our solutions for customers. By creating software that is 80 percent standardized and 20 percent customized, we can ensure a short and efficient implementation, yet deliver a solution that perfectly matches our customers' individual needs and gives them a competitive advantage. With our technology, we contribute to a sustainable data science strategy for our customers, not only in the Netherlands but also increasingly in other countries. ”

1Gartner "Cool Vendors in IT Services," Stephanie Stoudt-Hansen, et al, 3 October 2019.

Gartner Disclaimer:

Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in our research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

About Building Blocks

Building Blocks specialises in data science and machine learning solutions aimed at predicting customer behaviour in the retail and insurance sectors. Driven data scientists, data engineers and data translators develop blocks in which technology and algorithms translate raw data into accurate predictions for various business problems. Building Blocks puts the customer first and enables organizations to optimize the integrated customer journey.

  • Building Blocks aangepast met ondertitels

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