100 Most Promising Big Data Companies

Big Data Analytics
100 Most Promising Big Data Companies
In My Opinion:
CIO Viewpoint:
CXO Insight:
Matt Wolken, VP & GM, Information
Management Products, Dell Software
Tom Wolf, SVP & CIO,
MetLife
Anjul Bhambhri, VP-Big Data,
IBM
The Navigator for Enterprise Solutions
MAY - 2014
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David Peters
CEO, Emagine International
Saffron Technology:
Gayle Sheppard
CEO and Chairman
Cognitive
Computing For
Everyone
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CIOReview
May 2014
E
nterprises are being caught up in the Big Data wave. As the
market and the technologies are evolving, scores of Big Data
solution providers are positioning themselves for leadership
across different sub-divisions such as Analytics, Consulting,
Infrastructure, Management, Visualization, Security Analytics,
Apps and many more.
Investing in the right tools and integrating the most appropriate
technologies apt for the organization’s Big Data venture is a prime
requisite to derive maximum profitability. For CIO’s and IT decision
makers, the key lies in identifying the most relevant investment in
line with the company’s goals to tackle the Big Data challenges. They
have to see through the vendor hype and zero in on the most sound
strategy, solution or product for Big Data analysis and predictions.
The most rewarding vendor partnerships push the frontiers in
Big Data innovations and excellence. In the last few months, our
selection panel evaluated the capabilities of several vendors in
the Big Data spectrum and have shortlisted the ones that are at
the forefront of optimally tackling the real explosion in Big Data
volumes, variety and complexity.
As a prelude to CIO Review’s 100 Most Promising Big Data
Companies, our selection panel evaluated the capabilities of
several vendors in this space to power onward the ‘Byte’ tsunami.
A distinguished panel comprising of CEOs, CIOs, VCs, industry
analysts and the editorial board of CIO Review selected the final
100.
We present to you CIO Review’s 100 Most Promising Big Data
Companies 2014.
Company:
Category:
Key Person:
Description:
Paul Sill
Principal & CEO
A provider of sophisticated
modeling and cutting-edge mapping
solutions to enhance enterprisewide decision making.
Forum Analytics LLC
Luke Douglas
Principal & CTO
Big Data Analytics
Forum Analytics
Turning Data into Powerful Business Intelligence
W
hat connects geography and predictive analytics?
Paul Sill, Principal and CEO of Forum Analytics, has
the answer. While studying for his advanced degree
in urban geography, Sill saw the practical benefits of combining
applied statistics with geography. Once out of graduate school,
Sill began working in the real estate research department at
Blockbuster Entertainment assisting in the development of a
sales forecasting tool in a geospatial environment during their
explosive growth of the late 1990s. Roughly six additional
years working at Sears, Roebuck and Company exposed Sill
to many other forecasting, consulting, and modeling solutions.
Collectively, these experiences exposed shortcomings in
traditional platforms that could be remedied by using more
robust modeling techniques, and this encouraged him to start
Forum Analytics in 2001. Today, the firm’s predictive analytics
and integrated mapping solutions are being utilized by numerous
Fortune 500 companies with global ambitions.
Predictive analytics can be leveraged by enterprises to make
better decisions. However, as Sill sees it, the biggest challenges
for wider adoption of predictive analytics across an enterprise
continue to be client data integrity, correctly setting expectations
for exactly how analytics will add value, and the correct
interpretation of analytic results to avoid their misapplication,
especially in strategic decision making. “We use data mining
and predictive analytics to solve discrete, clearly-defined
business problems. Working closely with the client before work
begins to clearly define the objectives of the analysis is critical
to overall success,” say Sill. Key questions solved by Forum’s
work include strategic concerns such as “How
much can we grow before we start to oversaturate?”, “Which of my units are strong
remodel candidates?” and “How do I
optimize store assortment to maximize
revenue per square foot?”.
Beyond offering strategic insights,
Forum Analytics uses their SIMMS
Online platform to easily
and effectively deploy
analytics,
allowing
clients to interact with
their models, data
and
intelligence
through
a
simple,
web-based mapping interface–Google Maps, already familiar
to hundreds of millions worldwide. SIMMS–the Strategic
Integrated Mapping and Modeling System–is a turn-key,
enterprise-ready mapping, reporting, and modeling platform
that helps end-users find real-time, data-driven answers to real
estate, marketing, and assortment planning questions. Every
day, over 1,200 end users, from clients spanning the retail,
restaurant, health care, education, and similar business-toconsumer industries, rely on Forum’s individually customized
SIMMS Online solutions.
The SIMMS Online solution can integrate a proprietary
triangulated analytic modeling engine with market optimization,
sales cannibalization, and consumer profiling models, all
customized completely for each client’s unique needs. The
SIMMS Online platform, coupled with Forum’s strategic
consulting capabilities, empowers clients like Ace Hardware,
Krispy Kreme, Verizon Wireless, Carl’s Jr., Primrose Schools,
Sephora, and many other global brands to make informed dayto-day decisions and minimize risks.
“We’ve unleashed the full power of analytics through the
SIMMS Online platform, which is customized to provide ondemand insights for front-line field users working on tablets,
all the way up to the executive suite,” adds Sill. He identifies
a combination of Forum’s technical expertise and partnerships
with global data vendors as its unique differentiator. Forum’s
partnerships with information providers affords them access to
a wealth of data that, when coupled with client data resources,
provides the most complete framework for successful data
mining. The company’s relentless focus educating clients on how
to maximize their investment creates a sense of trust that keeps
clients happy year after year, and their greater than 98 percent
client retention rate stands as a testament to this.
With predictive analytics becoming
an ever-bigger force in driving business
decisions, Forum Analytics is intent on
constantly innovating and evolving to stay
ahead of the curve.
Paul Sill
Luke Douglas
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CIOReview
MAY 2014
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CIOReview
CIO
Review
MAY 2014