In 2022, Michiel Mechelmans founded The Data Forest from the Hasselt technology campus Corda Campus, aiming to combine strong analytical thinking with a unique visual translation. While many players in the market get stuck at reporting and number presentation, The Data Forest emphasizes making data accessible and action-oriented. In other words, it builds solutions that not only display numbers but also immediately show what actions or strategic choices are available.
Four years later, his sister Lore also works in the company, it has sixteen employees, and several multinationals rely on The Data Forest to make their data understandable. "Now that companies are massively deploying AI assistants, a solid data foundation is more crucial than ever. Shit in = Shit out in data," says founder Michiel Mechelmans.
From raw data to strategic decision-making
The Data Forest solves this with a strong data structure (data models and a semantic layer) that ensures everyone within a company sees the same numbers. This goes beyond classical reporting: customers receive not only numbers but an intuitive understanding of their data, which directly leads to action. "You can then view your data via a dashboard or ask for help from an AI assistant."
Live data on-site via augmented reality glasses
Recently, a new possibility has emerged: as the first company in Belgium, The Data Forest now also visualizes data insights live on-site via augmented reality glasses. Michiel: "Through your glasses, you can – hands-free – request certain information. Think of a logistics employee wanting to know where a particular product is in the warehouse. Or a forklift driver in the port who requests the current schedule live. More in-depth integrations are also possible, such as a technician logging a ticket in the system or a warehouse worker indicating that a shipment is ready, after which the system automatically prepares the order confirmation."
"Very cool, but even better: these glasses work with the same data model that also supplies the data for the dashboards, AI assistant, or any other data application within your organization. This allows your entire company to work with exactly the same data. This enables management teams to make faster and better-founded decisions and ensures that operational teams can manage their processes more efficiently."
Growing with support, operating on its own strength
The team of The Data Forest is growing rapidly: in the past six months, it has jumped from five to sixteen employees. "We are indeed growing quickly, but thoughtfully. At our startup, we made use of the innovative startup support from VLAIO. For the development of our augmented reality component, we relied on the XR innovation fund from POM Limburg, and to finance our growth, the Limburg investment company LRM recently granted us a breakthrough loan. It is nice to receive the right support at the right time. However, I want to emphasize that this support is a tool. 90% of our income comes - as it should - from the work we deliver to customers," emphasizes Lore.
Five trees per billed hour
At LRM, they agree. Gunter Plevoets, head of corporate lending at LRM: "The Data Forest distinguishes itself from other players with its focus on accessibility and visualization. At the same time, it is an agile player that can quickly respond to specific customer needs and provide customized solutions where necessary. Finally, their combination of technology and sustainability is unprecedented in the IT sector. For every billed hour, The Data Forest plants five trees. This directly links commercial growth to social impact, which perfectly aligns with the growing demand from large companies for ESG-oriented partners."
Ambition: 700,000 trees per year
This pronounced sustainable business model has been in place since day one. "At the start, we had the ambition to plant 100,000 trees by 2030. To our great joy, we have already reached that milestone. Much faster than expected. Now we cherish the ambition to grow to 100 employees. If we estimate the billed hours for 100 employees, that would result in 700,000 trees per year. So we are going for sustainable, qualitative growth, under the motto 'Hert Gaan'," jokes Michiel.
For planting the trees, The Data Forest collaborates with the NGO Trees for the Future. The 100,000 trees were planted through them in Uganda and Tanzania, spread over 32 so-called 'forest gardens'.
