Next up in BlueGranite's new Meet our Team series is Jim Bennett – a data and analytics enthusiast with over 18 years of experience developing customized and integrated solutions for clients.

Jim is a Principal at BlueGranite and has been with the team since 2014. In his early days, Jim received his bachelor's degree in computer science, with concentrations in mathematics and philosophy, from Western Michigan University.

Jim began his career as a database administrator, allowing him to branch out in many ways and gain extensive experience with moving, transforming, and integrating data into different systems. From there, Jim began working with data and analytics, eventually leading him to a BI firm in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he filled the role of senior business intelligence architect prior to joining the BlueGranite team. 

Jim has a lot of reasons for enjoying his work with data and analytics, but what stood out the most was his passion for transforming data. Here’s what Jim had to say:

“I enjoy the automation and efficiency that comes with working with data. I like to take on the challenge of improving and transforming data into something that is usable and brings insight to our clients. This also keeps my work exciting since I get to apply this passion to a lot of different scenarios and circumstances in unique client environments.”

Overall, Jim’s favorite kind of project work involves building end-to-end solutions because he gets to use a lot of different technologies to accomplish his goals. Jim likes getting to start from scratch and build out an entire environment to help clients implement best practices and the right tools from the very start of the project. Lately, Jim has been working on complex self-service and enterprise BI projects that have been largely focused on data visualization and analytics consumption.

When asked what he likes about working at BlueGranite, here’s what Jim wanted to share:

“BlueGranite is unique in the sense that we care a lot about helping our employees set aside time and budget for professional development. I really like working for a company that encourages career growth and developing learning plans to ensure continued success. You don’t find that too often in the BI consulting industry, which speaks to why we have such an amazing and talented team.”

Jim also had some predictions for the future of our ever-growing industry – he believes that there is an increasing demand for analytic professionals to deliver more advanced solutions due to the importance being put on data in recent years. This also means that there is a rising need for good architecture, the implementation of best practices with data, and strong design. In Jim’s opinion, this is where BlueGranite is able to maximize clients’ potential and give them the best insights into their data. 

When Jim isn’t at work, he likes to take time to participate in various professional organizations in order to keep up on the latest technologies. Some of the professional organizations that Jim belongs to include the Professional Association for SQL Server (PASS), as well as three special interest groups within the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM), including:

• Special Interest Group on Knowledge Discovery in Data (SIGKDD)
• Special Interest Group on Management of Data (SIGMOD)
• Special Interest Group on Algorithms & Computational Theory (SIGACT).

Outside of professional organizations, Jim enjoys traveling with his family, as well as volunteering at his church, and for a camp in Northern Michigan.

Want to know more about BlueGranite and the rest of our team? Contact us!