Ángel Viña
Founder and CEO / Denodo Technologies, Inc.
Ángel Viña, Founder and CEO of Denodo Technologies, sits down with CEO North America Magazine for an in-depth look at how his company is transforming the way organizations innovate and deliver data.
Denodo is a global leader in data management. With its data virtualization technology and the award-winning Denodo Platform, as well as the latest offering, Agora, the company enables organizations to access, integrate, and manage data from multiple sources through a single, logical layer—all at less than half the cost of traditional data integration methods.
Denodo’s agile data services cater to all major industries around the world, supported by the company’s 25 offices located in 20 countries across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region.
The Path to Denodo
Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Denodo has come a long way from its humble beginnings in Spain in 1999.
Reflecting on his entrepreneurial journey, Ángel Viña, Founder and CEO of Denodo, notes that the company was built on opportunities he identified during his time as a university professor at the University of A Coruña, when he began exploring real-time data access and integration.
“The focus of our research was a mix of data technology with real-time behavior and also adding to that, symbolic AI algorithms.”
“Denodo is proud to offer our technology and expertise to the global community of higher education and scientific research. Because Denodo has its roots in university research programs funded by public and private institutions, academic achievement and the advancement of scientific research is an important part of who we are as a company.”
The founder notes that during his initial research, he encountered significant challenges related to managing data diversity, multiple formats, and various data assets. He also faced slow, complex, and inefficient processes for accessing and integrating data. “This problem, by the way, is still relevant today; it persists.”
According to Viña, this is where the company’s inception took place.
“We came up with the idea of using virtual databases to bring flexibility and agility to a problem faced by various companies and corporations. It was certainly part of our strategic vision for the future, and it was clear that traditional data warehousing and ETL processing would not solve this issue.”
With this innovation, Viña and his team developed a highly effective technology that could generate databases on the fly, which later evolved into data virtualization technology.
“And here we are, twenty-five years later, with a company that continues to lead in this space because that problem, I would say, is even more important today than it was twenty-five years ago.”
“Our growth involves continually evolving our data virtualization platform to complement the broader data ecosystems. The modernization of data infrastructure today integrates various elements, including databases, data lakes, cloud services, and multiple data sets. This creates complex processes for ingesting more and more data.”
Meeting Market Needs
After over two decades in the industry, Viña tells CEO North America Magazine, “Our technologies are unique.”
Denodo employs a universal semantic layer that works across various systems, providing data in a consistent, clear, and actionable format for all end users and applications.
“It’s unique because it operates on top of any type of technology, data type, and format. It also functions seamlessly in hybrid environments, including cloud and multi-cloud setups.” Viña adds, “I think we have an amazing opportunity today to continue doing what we have been doing in the past, but on a much larger scale.”
In today’s market, there is a much greater diversity of data consumers and users. Data has been democratized, reaching new users who are no longer just business analysts or data scientists. “Ideally,” says Viña, “data should be easily accessible to everyone.”
“In that regard, I believe the company is uniquely positioned to meet the current market needs.”
“Technology should solve real business problems, not create new ones. Our expert approach means we focus on innovative application and data strategies that deliver measurable business outcomes, transforming complex technology challenges into achievable solutions”
Sathish TK, CTO at IQZ Systems
Pioneering Sustainable Growth
In addition to establishing the overall vision and direction for Denodo, Viña also manages the corporate strategy, operations, and global expansion.
When asked about his plans for the company over the next three to five years, Viña states, “Our goal is to maintain growth. The company is performing well on a global scale.” “We are present in every region of the world, with customers from South Africa to Iceland, as well as in Mexico and Japan.”
Denodo primarily targets the segment of the market that is more responsive to data-driven strategies, particularly “large corporations that manage significant volumes of data. Most of our clients are global companies with multiple data assets located in different regions, which raises cross-border compliance issues.”
In collaborating with these major corporations, Viña emphasizes the importance of providing customers with easy access to their data assets, flexible and agile data product creation, and effective delivery to various audiences within the organization.
“It’s essential to involve the data management leader to ensure the security of the data we deliver and to implement governance that guarantees everything we do is safe and compliant with regulations,” he explains. “All of this is more critical than ever,” Viña insists. “The appetite to use more data is everywhere, and we can provide a nice clean layer to have everything under control while maintaining the flexibility and agility needed to cater to data users.”
“We regularly organize growth advisory councils with our top customers. These councils provide a platform for our Pro management team and field CTO to discuss innovations. This practice is essential for the company to stay informed about the latest developments from around the world.”
Transforming Operations
Leaning into the next twelve months, Denodo’s executive team is focused on understanding “who we are and how we can improve efficiency,” particularly in operations.
As a global company, it is crucial for Denodo to embrace the latest innovations in the market by applying best practices across all its locations.
Going forward, Viña tells CEO North America, “there is a significant effort underway within the company to share these best practices, not only internally but also throughout our extensive parent network, which spans various geographies and reaches our customer base.”
Operational Efficiency and AI
“A significant transformation is taking place in our marketing practices,” Denodo’s CEO says. By enhancing audience interaction, “we segment our marketing actions in a way that greatly improves operational efficiency.”
With over twenty years of experience as an industry leader, Viña is well attuned to changing times, “I want to highlight another trend that is gaining popularity these days – the use of artificial intelligence.”
Today, Denodo leverages AI to enhance operational efficiency in digital business development by amplifying communication efforts. On the consulting side, Denodo’s AI technology enhances synthetic communication and collaboration. “This is not just about shaping customer services; it’s also about complementing what Denodo’s partners are doing in the market and strategizing for the future according to specific needs.”
“All of these areas are our top priorities for the next one to two years regarding the company’s development.”
Standing Out
What distinguishes Denodo from its competitors? According to Viña, “we are a technology that complements solutions from other vendors.”
He explains that most major players in the market, including cloud service providers and big data services, primarily focus on data ingestion, storage, and computing. Many of their solutions are cloud-based.
In contrast, Denodo adds an additional layer, concentrating on what customers want to do with their data.
Viña’s emphasis is on service orientation which supports the creation of data products tailored for specific audiences, all in an agile, flexible, and cost-effective manner.
Celebrating 25 Years
Denodo, having been established at the turn of the millennium, has witnessed many competitors come and go. This year, in March, the company Viña founded celebrated a significant milestone: 25 years of innovation in data management.
In 2024, Gartner® recognized Denodo as a Leader for the fifth consecutive year in its Magic Quadrant for Data Integration Tools.
Today, the Denodo Platform is trusted by leading Fortune 500 and Global 1000 companies to enhance customer experiences, improve operational efficiency and agility, promote self-service data democratization, and modernize IT infrastructure.
“Our message to our customers is this: no matter what strategy you have in place for your future, you need a semantic layer—a logical data layer that helps you control the generation of data products, apply operational security to data delivery, and provide the flexibility that enhances your competitiveness.”
According to Viña, Denodo demonstrates its effectiveness through the successes it has achieved with its existing customers, who are large, industry-leading companies.
Viña sums it up, “The technology is an enabler for innovation and the innovators are our customers.”
