Frequently Asked Questions

As a solo consultant, I am genuinely independent. I don’t have ties with software vendors pushing their solutions. I don’t have juniors on the bench that I need to staff. Xudo is cashflow positive, so I don’t have to make concessions when it comes to the projects I take on—or refuse. This means I’ll tell you what you need to hear, even if you don’t want to hear it.

Big 4 firms offer economies of scale and large teams, but you often pay for overhead, juniors in training, and rigid methodologies that don’t always fit your situation. With me you get: senior expertise from day one (15+ years experience), no agency markup - you pay for my time not office costs and sales teams, complete flexibility - I adapt my approach to your situation, direct communication - no layers between you and the person doing the work, and true independence - no vendor partnerships influencing my advice. Choose a Big 4 if you need political coverage or a huge team. Choose me if you want results.

A full-time BI Manager has advantages for long-term continuity, but consider: a permanent BI Manager costs €80-100K+ annually (salary + employer contributions + secondary costs), usually has limited expertise in 1-2 tools, needs 3-6 months ramp-up time, and carries termination risk if it’s not a match. With me: €45-60K total for a complete A-to-Z implementation, broad platform expertise (Qlik, PowerBI, BigQuery and more), 15+ years strategic experience, cancellable after month one, and deliverable-focused results. Hire a BI Manager if you need daily operational management. Hire me for a transformation that gets your system in order, so a junior can run it afterwards.

The main pros are: (1) Direct access—you work with me, the expert, not a junior or account manager; (2) Speed and efficiency—AI-enhanced development and zero agency overhead allow me to deliver faster; (3) Absolute independence—I recommend the best tools for your business, not what a vendor partnership dictates. The main cons are: (1) Limited throughput—I only take on a few clients at a time to maintain high quality; (2) I’m a single point of failure—if I’m unavailable, work pauses. I mitigate this by building highly documented, standard-based systems that any competent engineer can maintain.

I work with services businesses with 50+ employees who realize they have to start using data to get their operations under control. They need complete BI implementation—from strategy to fully automated KPI dashboards—and value independence and a pragmatic, results-oriented approach.

I specialize in BI platforms like Qlik, PowerBI, and Google BigQuery, with broad knowledge across the entire data lifecycle. My T-shaped expertise gives you both deep specialization and broad knowledge. I also embrace modern development techniques, including AI-enhanced workflows, to rapidly prototype solutions.

Data engineering involves designing and building systems for collecting, storing, and analyzing data at scale. It’s the foundation that enables businesses to make data-driven decisions. I approach it holistically, connecting your business value proposition with the right data architecture and user experience through my proprietary data flow framework.

My philosophy background isn’t just an academic credential—it’s my secret weapon. Philosophy trained me to spot assumptions others take for granted, to ask the right questions instead of accepting obvious answers, and to see the bigger picture when others get lost in technical details. This means I look at your data challenges holistically, connecting business value with the right technical solutions.

Absolutely. I can audit existing systems, identify bottlenecks, optimize performance, and help migrate to more modern solutions. For example, at Greenyard Frozen I streamlined complex QlikView environments and managed SAP migrations. Many clients come to me when their current setup is limiting growth.

Recent highlights include: Dropsolid—engineered 3-layer Data Vault architecture in Google BigQuery, delivering automated margin analysis; Greenyard Frozen—interim BI Manager streamlining complex QlikView environments and managing SAP migrations; Onafhankelijk Leven—built workforce planning dashboards enabling data-driven decisions. I’ve also built a complete parking availability app for Gent using open data and AI-assisted development.

My approach is practical and pragmatic—I focus on solutions that deliver real business value, not just technical perfection. Every system I build is designed to grow with your company, avoiding costly rewrites as you scale. I bridge the gap between technical complexity and business understanding, ensuring everyone is aligned. I work as an extension of your team, sharing knowledge and building capabilities alongside delivering solutions.

I’m based in Gent, Belgium, and available for projects across East & West Flanders. While I’m comfortable working remotely, I can travel for on-site meetings and workshops when needed. I work with companies across Europe, from pharmaceutical giants like UCB to growing Belgian companies.

I only engage when I can truly add huge value for your business. I help you design a plan to get from where you are to where you want to be—with the analytical rigor and independence you need to succeed. My end-to-end capability spans from strategy through implementation to user adoption, ensuring your data transformation delivers real results.

You need a data warehouse when your business requires consistent, reliable data for decision-making across multiple systems. If you’re spending too much time reconciling numbers from different sources, or your reports show conflicting results, it’s time to consider a data warehouse. The key is to focus on data transformation—reshaping raw data into formats that support actual analysis and decision-making.

Data strategy should never exist in isolation—it must directly support your business objectives. I help you align your data initiatives with what you’re actually trying to achieve as a company. This means starting with business questions, not technical solutions. What decisions do you need to make? What information would help you make them better? The technology follows the strategy, not the other way around.

A data project has a defined end date and deliverable—you build it and you’re done. A data product is a living asset that continuously delivers value and evolves with your business needs. I help clients shift from project thinking to product thinking, where your data infrastructure is treated as a strategic asset with its own roadmap, just like your customer-facing products.

Technology alone doesn’t create a data-driven culture—people do. The real challenge is converting insights into decisions and decisions into actions. I help organizations close this loop by connecting data strategy, data architecture, and data culture. This means empowering teams with the right tools and knowledge, creating accountability for data quality, and ensuring insights lead to actual business outcomes.

The ‘single source of truth’ (SSOT) approach works well for standardized reporting, but modern organizations often need multiple versions of truth (MVOTS) for different contexts. A sales forecast might need different assumptions than financial reporting. I help you design an architecture that provides the consistency you need while allowing the flexibility your business requires.

BI tool licensing is just the tip of the iceberg. The real costs lie in implementation, training, maintenance, and opportunity costs. As an independent consultant, I evaluate tools based on your specific needs, not vendor relationships. I consider total cost of ownership, integration capabilities, and long-term scalability to recommend solutions that truly fit your situation.

If I become ill, I’ll inform you immediately. For shorter periods (a few days), work can often continue with asynchronous tasks like documentation and code reviews. For longer absences, I work with a network of trusted data consultants who can take over or support the project. You only pay for days worked, of course.

Yes, absolutely. After the first month, you can cancel without issue with 1 month notice. I don’t want clients locked into a long-term contract. This gives me the incentive to deliver value from day one. If the project isn’t working, we both need the freedom to move on.