After the first wave of coronavirus cases swept across the world, companies started reflecting on how to leverage their business data and analytics to create a data-driven culture that would allow them to respond quickly and effectively to unprecedented events such as the Covid-19 global pandemic.
Analysts argue that analytics tools are a must-have investment. Their limit however is that they are only accessible to users with technical and data literacy skills. Those, in other words, who can “speak data”.
Augmented analytics — i.e. AI applied to data analytics — has the power to make business data accessible to anyone, regardless of their technical skills.
In a digital innovation pilot project, Prysmian Group and Milan-based scaleup iGenius measured the impact of an augmented analytics tool within Prysmian’s energy sector.
What is Augmented Analytics?
Augmented analytics is the application of machine learning and Natural Language Processing to analytics and data intelligence.
In the pilot project, named Pry-Talk by Prysmian Group, iGenius provided Prysmian with a virtual advisor for data intelligence able to connect to and integrate the company’s data sources, analyze business data in real time, and present it to users in the shape of questions to their answers. All using natural language, the idea being to reimagine data interaction by “talking” to a virtual colleague.
“Innovation doesn’t equate to technology,” said Uljan Sharka, Founder & CEO of iGenius. “Technology, and AI in particular, are a means, not an end. The goal for us is to use technology to enable its users to do their job to the very best of their abilities, and more, in ways they didn’t think possible before. The ability to “talk to data” via a virtual advisor and receive data-driven responses makes a technology as complex as AI accessible to anyone. This in turns allows users to have an actual, measurable impact on their business.”
“Pry-Talk is a big step towards becoming a data-driven company”, said Carlotta Dainese, Digital Strategy & Innovation Lab Director at Prysmian. “We are reimagining the way we interact with data, giving it a voice and turning it into actionable insights.”
According to Francesco Fanciulli, Executive Vice President, Energy at Prysmian, “Pry-Talk can be the one advanced access point to our customers portal, leveraging our partners’ visibility on our full product offering while empowering our operational teams with an easy-to-use tool that turns complex data into useful business insights.”
“Better access to data leads to better insights, and better insights are key to sustainable growth in a digital environment”, added Prysmian’s CIO, Stefano Brandinali.
The iGenius-Prysmian pilot, which came to an end in November, lasted approximately a month and involved Prysmian users in Milan, where the company is headquartered, as well as in other offices around the world, including in North America and the Netherlands. In total, the pilot users asked over a thousand questions to the advisor.
“Having achieved amazing results in Europe, we have just launched our virtual advisor for data intelligence in the North American market”, commented Sharka. “The fact that the Prysmian pilot started in Italy but has very much of a global reach and outlook is in line with our business goals, and we cannot but be honored and enthusiastic about this partnership.”
Meet crystal, iGenius’s virtual advisor for data intelligence