Barry Sheehan
Chief Commercial Officer, Showoff
Despite the noise surrounding AI, most organisations still face the same challenge: understanding what problems they’re trying to solve, and whether their data is ready to support it.
That’s the gap Showoff, a Salesforce partner, with global experience and Irish roots, sees in many organisations it works with. “We’ve gone from building apps for startups to solving problems for large organisations across the UK and US,” says Barry Sheehan, Showoff’s chief commercial officer. “Our heritage is in data, integrations and migrations”.
Garbage in = garbage out
As the team refocuses on the Irish market, they’re finding that many organisations are excited about AI, but struggling to determine where best to use it to realise value.
While tools and platforms get the headlines, the real differentiator is still data. “People say they want to bring everything from the past into their new systems, but don’t bring your garbage. Be smarter about what you keep and why. Garbage in equals garbage out.”
For many businesses, the first step toward AI is not AI at all — it’s fixing the basics. Legacy systems, paper forms and “swivel-chair” processes remain widespread. “These problems have existed for years. Integration is still key, and lots of people still aren’t doing it,” Sheehan says.
The result: organisations often mislabel automation as artificial intelligence. Sheehan is pragmatic about this, “If somebody knows the problem they’re trying to solve, they can call it AI, software as a service or automation. Whether that’s right or wrong doesn’t really matter, if it’s used for the right reason.”
For many businesses, the first step toward AI is not AI at all — it’s fixing the basics.
Although much of Showoff’s work is in the Salesforce ecosystem, Sheehan stresses their focus is on helping companies understand their business challenges and goals — not implementing new systems for the sake of it.
“Maybe you don’t need all the new bells and whistles,” he says. “Maybe what you’ve got is fit for purpose. We can give that independent view: are you ready for AI?”
After years of delivering projects internationally, the company has built a diverse team. “We’ve got people originating from all over the globe, all based here in Ireland.”
Sheehan says. He notes that proximity and familiarity still matter, “There’s a bit of honesty, a bit of good old-fashioned relationship building. And we’re close by.”
As organisations in Ireland figure out data and AI, Sheehan says the focus should be less about selling technology and more about clarity. “It’s all about helping people figure out where they’re coming from — and delivering something valuable once we understand what that something is,” he says.
