The "O" Word: How Ontologies Drive Interoperable Data and Business Innovation
A Talk by Tara Raafat , Veronika Heimsbakk , Jérémy Ravenel and Charles Borderie
About this Talk
Knowledge Graphs (KGs) are no longer a distant concept—they are actively shaping the way organisations handle data today. In fact, Gartner named ontologies as one of this year’s top 10 trends in data, signalling their importance for both public and private sectors. This panel will dive deep into how ontologies are driving data interoperability, with practical examples from real-world use cases.
We’ll explore what’s in it for the end user, including how ontologies simplify data integration and enable new insights. The discussion will also highlight the role of the EU Interoperable Act and the European Data Spaces initiative in advancing interoperability across public sectors, while showing how businesses are already leveraging existing and private ontologies to optimise their data strategies.
Attendees will also learn about publicly available ontologies, the discovery process, and hear a firsthand account from an ontologist on how to build Knowledge Graphs. We’ll examine the value of using upper-level ontologies, compare top-down vs. bottom-up design approaches, and offer practical guidance on how to design and implement an ontology tailored to your needs. Whether you're from the public sector, business, or technology, this session will provide insights into the rapidly evolving world of ontologies and their pivotal role in shaping interoperable data ecosystems.
This panel is brought to you by Lettria.
Key Topics
Knowledge Graphs Applied and They Are Here Now!
- What’s in it for the end user to use ontologies?
- EU interoperable act
- highlight the business use cases that are using them already
- to discover already existing ontologies
- Public sector: European Data Spaces
- other publicly available ontologies
- Private ontologies
An ontologist testimonial on how to build KGs
- What is the added value with upper level ontologies
- What speaks for the bottom-up approach?
- How do you design an ontology?
OPTIONAL – Harmonisation data strategy
- Interoperability vs harmonisation – when to choose one or the other?
- master data
AUDIENCE INPUT:
- slido can it be displayed
- hand-raising and picking up comments throughout the panel discussion
PANEL CULTURE
- debate signs
- no overlapping talk
Target Audience
- Chief Data Officers
- Data Architects
- Data Modelers
- Technical Managers
Goals
- Understand what an ontology is.
- Get a good understanding of why they might need ontologies
- Understand that the shape of a knowledge graph matters.
Session outline:
- Introduction
- …
Format
- Expert panel
- Expert discussion, coordinated by moderator
- 2 hours running time
- Running time includes modules of expert discussion, interspersed with modules of audience Q&A / interaction
Level
- Intermediate
Prerequisite Knowledge
- Basic understanding of Knowledge Graphs
About The Speakers
Head of Metadata Strategy, Bloomberg
Dr. Tara Raafat is the head of Bloomberg's metadata strategy at the CTO office. Tara is a semantic technologies specialist with 15+ years of experience in semantic knowledge modeling and knowledge driven applications in domains including but not limited to finance, healthcare, and insurance.
Knowledge Graph Lead, Capgemini
Veronika, Knowledge Graph Lead at Capgemini, is a dedicated and enthusiastic outreach of the wonders of semantic knowledge graphs. Recently awarded among Norway’s Top 50 Women in Tech. Her main niche within the space is everything SHACL
Founder & CEO, naas.ai
Jeremy Ravenel is the Founder & CEO of naas.ai, a universal open-source data platform that democratizes data and AI with low-code templates and generative AI models. Under his leadership, naas.ai empowers users worldwide to create efficient data products.
Moderators
Head of Data, In Parallel
Katariina Kari, with dual Master’s in Science and Music, specializes in the semantic web, notably having led the creation of IKEA Knowledge Graph and Zalando’s Fashion Knowledge Graph to enhance customer experience.
We’re a cloud tech company that provides organisations around the world with computing infrastructure and software to help them innovate, unlock efficiencies and become more effective. We also created the world’s first – and only – autonomous database to help organise and secure our customers’ data.
