Q&A: Ariel Pilcer, Notitia's Canberra Principal
Ariel Pilcer, Notitia Principal, has landed at the Notitia Team with a bang, having launched Notitia’s Canberra Office on the ground, he will assist our national team, to deliver technology and data consulting projects for our ACT clients.
He brings a bucket-load of industry experience and technical know-how, along with an authentic approach and *that* critical ability to listen, understand pain points and plot the best pathway to data + analytics nirvana!
With a background in mathematics and data science, Ariel has worked across government (defence, employment, finance, agriculture, transport), aviation, healthcare, retail, banking and publishing.
He’s a Canberra local and most recently consulted for the ACT division at KPMG, Australian Government Department of Employment and Workplace Relations and global tech giants Qlik and Teradata.
Ariel is happy to chat about what’s happening in data and technology, industry insights and your upcoming project: ariel.pilcer@notitia.com.au or book a chat here.
Expert lens on your data, analytics, tech, digital design and web development projects.
“Our team delivers data, where it is needed, in an intuitive, informative and actionable format,” Ariel says.
“The challenges of working with technology and data analytics is about finding the right balance - whether that be team size, what to include in Minimum Viable Product (MVP), detail vs the big picture or agile vs waterfall project management styles.
“Depth of experience really helps to hone intuition on these questions - that is why Notitia, through our collective experience and areas of expertise, drive industry leading solutions for our clients.”
That data analytics sweet spot: Understanding how to produce best outcomes.
The magic happens when everyone brings their A-game and decision-makers, domain experts, end users, implementation experts all work toward a common goal, Ariel says.
“When I reflect on experiences that have helped to shape my career I think back to my very first boss, who taught me so much about consulting,” he says.
"As a consultant, we trade on our credibility.
"That means understanding the stakes, having robust Quality Assurance (QA) processes, knowing when you don’t know, and being willing to respectfully challenge the status quo.”
Working with global tech giant, Qlik
Ariel says that working as a solution architect for global technology product company, Qlik, based out of Canberra, has given him a deep understanding of the types of challenges that clients face.
“At Qlik my role was to listen to our customers and provide them with advice,” Ariel says.
“This involved mapping business problems, providing technology and process solutions, staying ahead of industry trends and the latest flashy technology tools.
“It meant working alongside each client through their journey, from their first ‘what if?’ line of questioning, to a data and tech roadmap solution that meets all their needs.”
Data Science career journey: from airport planning to tech
Ariel says that he has followed a natural career progression as a data scientist, from airport planning, through to technology.
“My airport planning work was mostly in simulation and modelling, which required many bespoke and general purpose software packages,” Ariel says.
“On a given project, there were often stakeholders with more technical expertise, business acumen or operational knowledge, but they couldn't always understand each other - I was a very good go-between.
“My strength was being able to translate business problems into technical challenges and distilling technical outputs into actionable, business-relevant insights for decision makers. This is valuable in any industry”
That “aha” moment when we deliver more than expected
From time to time I get to surprise clients with other skills that they didn’t expect me to have, Ariel says.
“I was an editor of an industry publication for three years which means that I know how to produce a high grade document, along with graphic design,” he says.
“This often ends up being useful, as many analytics projects require a physical report, especially one that the audience wants to read!”
Ariel also has a detailed understanding of Geographic Information Systems (GIS), geoprocessing and geographical projects.
“This is often very useful to solve problems where information needs to be presented geographically,” he says.
“I've used this to write software to simplify highly detailed geographical shape data in a way that preserved topology and optimised dashboard map performance.
"My boss told me that I had gone well beyond what he expected from a business analyst!"
2024: The year of many cloud migration pilot projects
In terms of what’s coming for 2024, everyone knows that the future is cloud solutions and cloud migration services, Ariel says.
"But actually getting there can be intimidating - especially if the status quo is humming along just fine," he says.
"In government, cloud introduces new governance concerns that agencies have not had to deal with before.
"Although vendors are improving their cloud migration pathways and addressing pain points, many organisations will still benefit from expert guidance in formulating and executing their cloud migration strategies."
Ariel’s top three workplace mantras
- None of us is smarter than all of us
- Make sure the juice is worth the squeeze
- Don't just be correct; be understood.
Ariel works alongside the wider Notitia team, on the ground in our Canberra Office and hybrid across our Melbourne and Adelaide Offices.
Book time with Notitia Principal, Ariel Pilcer, to find out how we can help solve your challenges through data.
