editorial focus Customer Knowledge and Data Science

editorial

Digital revolution, Big Data and Data Science are no longer a thing of the future but a contemporary reality.

As evidenced by our current involvement in our customers’ efforts to appropriate these new technologies. It is through case studies, use cases and practical applications that the actual benefits achieved from these projects will be known. Today, Proofs of Concept (PoCs) are at the heart of a successful organizational Big Data project deployment system that makes concepts and promises tangible.

Even though Big Data has a huge field of application, as is often the case, Marketing is the first function to have jumped on the bandwagon, one of the pioneering fields in the area being customer knowledge. This is the reason why we believe it essential, in this issue, to address the Big Data practice through the prism of customer knowledge which has brought, in its wake, smart data analysis capabilities which are now referred to as Data Science.

Data Science has already pervaded our everyday lives and activities: from online buying to welfare measurement. In other words, the digital transformation is well and truly underway. And 30 seconds is all you need to understand what it is all about: https://youtu.be/nrQ9XftEyH4

Enjoy the read, Patrick Bensabat

Chaiman & Managing Directorl

Customer Knowledge and Data Science

Is customer knowledge a science? Judging by the sheer volume of information, variety and diversity of sources involved, the answer can only be a resounding Yes! Forecasting may be the priority but statistical analysis, algorithm implementation and predictive modeling form the core of what is known as Customer Knowledge.

This issue’s feature article focuses on this subject with insights and examples that potentially open up a world of possibilities.

focus

Customer Knowledge and Data Science

Data Science is the discipline that extracts intelligence from data to make it operational and usable by the various business functions. It does so drawing mainly on statistics and Machine Learning and applying techniques that are not accessible through traditional BI, Dataviz or data mining. Big Data and Data Science have caused a disruption in customer behavior analysis approaches as the balance of power has now shifted to their advantage: better informed thanks to the Internet, customers can now arrive at purchase decisions in a matter of clicks.

POINTS OF VIEW, MAGAZINE OF EXPERTISE

A key international player in advanced data processing, Business & Decision’s position in the Big Data field is consolidated by its constant efforts to further its skills in Data Science, Machine Learning, statistics and recommendation engines.

Data Science can be applied in a vast number of areas including financial risk management, the fight against fraud and money laundering, cyber-security, energy efficiency, connected objects management and knowledge, which is directly related to digital marketing. The aim is to set up, maintain and manage a 360° view that includes all channels and points of interaction with the customer. Marketing and operational processes are organized around the information, the data transformed into knowledge (customer) by Data Science algorithms. This information is then made operational and available in the form of indicators and recommendations.

Data Science projects cannot be approached as traditional Business Intelligence projects. They require an exploratory phase during which the methodology applied must be adapted to the quality and the richness of available data, the infrastructures within which data is stored and finally, the analytical tools employed.

Marketing is the first function to have embraced the digitization of its operations. Internet users leave footprints when they visit a retail website, purchase something or make transactions, interact with a brand, recommend a product or provide feedback on the Web in general, and more specifically on social networks. And these constitute an enormous amount of digital data which Data Science can help analyze and leverage. This data is scattered all over, voluminous, not necessarily structured and becomes obsolete quite quickly.

Today, Data Science algorithms can be adapted to Big Data to create a useful customer knowledge view that can be interpreted in real time and provide a true dynamic mapping of the customer’s behavior. Self-learning algorithms can, for example, help determine the best offer to make to a customer when he connects to a website.

Business & Decision has already implemented several projects for customers in the tourism, hospitality and catering industry, with returns on investment being achieved in a matter of months. Drawing on its now recognized development, integration, training, support, hosting and consulting skills in areas as varied as Machine Learning, recommendation engines, statistics and Data Science, Business & Decision continues to expand the range of services it offers and build on its expertise areas.

DECEMBER 2015

Water consumption predictive analysis

Business Intelligence – Customer Knowledge Chair

Water is at the heart of all natural resources preservation concerns.

Water consumption is thus a particularly sensitive subject for both the public and the private players involved in its management.

Business & Decision’s team of Data Scientists has taken on this challenge to develop for one of its customers, a key water distribution player, models that can predict what the water consumption will be 1 day, 15 days and 3 years. By expertly leveraging large amounts of historical data, these models managed to predict water consumption with 97% accuracy.

To promote research and innovation, the Fondation Université Bretagne Sud brought together companies and the university around a common future. It created a new partnership dedicated to Business Intelligence and Customer Knowledge.

Financed by Bretagne’s Crédit Agricole, Avril Group, Cofilmo and Business & Decision, the aim of this partnership is to enrich the relationship between companies and their customers through the use of innovative data collection, storage and exploitation methods. Its aim is to help meet the challenges a transformed relationship poses by increasing the value of the company’s main asset (from the demand side): its customer. Evolving business models have placed the customer at the heart of value creation in enterprises, regardless of activity sector. Companies must be able to use and analyze customer data to build personalized and non-intrusive relationships with them. The volume and complexity of this data has however exploded, namely due to the increase in communication channels. Big Data is now very much a reality and one companies must contend with.

It is in such a context that the Business Intelligence – Customer Knowledge Chair will provide a differentiated approach to drive scientific and technological innovation.

To achieve such a result, the models were constructed based on numerous information sources including information from weather bulletins and even data on the impact of the weather and calendar (feasts, events, holidays, etc.) on water consumption.

Anticipating water needs helped the customer better organize its resources and activities, namely in terms of equipment maintenance management and planning.

For more information, please watch the following video: https://youtu.be/7nFANJG3fPI

The Big Data & Digital Blog celebrates its

first year of existence with over 100,000 views!

To submit your ideas: [email protected] Read articles on: www.blog.businessdecision.com - 157 articles published

- 15 active contributors

- 106 000 views in Octobre 2015 with an average of 390 views per day

- 978 views in one day

- Up to 452 LinkedIn shares of a blog post - 20 articles viewed over 1,000 times

Big Data applied to Human Resources

Big Data and Health, the Presidio project

What is a Data Scientist?

For Altedia, Adecco Group’s Human Resources consulting firm, Big Data is well and truly the next Human Resources revolution. Big Data applications in the field show huge potential. Business & Decision’s experts teamed up with Altedia to demonstrate, for instance, the contribution of new technologies in the field of absenteeism.

How to predict absenteeism which already represents, on average, 10 days per employee per year? Using statistical analysis and a Machine Learning tool, the objective of the methodology is to develop explanatory indicators and identify causes through in-depth analysis of reliable and significant amounts of data.

Applied in the medical field, Data Science transforms Customer Knowledge into Patient Knowledge. A mining model is constructed based on multiple data sources.

Approved by the Cap Digital competitiveness cluster, the Presidio project brings together the French national health and medical research institute (INSERM), the National Conservatory of Arts and Crafts (CNAM), the Kappa Santé and TEMIS Groups, the Digital Ethics institute, the start-up SNIPS and Business & Decision Group.

This new digital model for the healthcare sector, for chronic diseases in general and mental illnesses in particular should help take better care of patients on the one hand and on the other, further the research on these diseases. A predictive approach to health incident occurrences in people is only possible if data generated by social networks, health databases, geolocation and polls is analyzed.

The ultimate goal being to detect the motives that may be acted upon and thus help reduce the rate of absenteeism in a reliable and sustainable manner.

This study project involved three successive technological phases: Data Management for data collection and governance, Data Science for statistical modeling, Machine Learning and lastly, Dataviz for result searching and viewing.

In brief, this approach helped understand, target and quickly and efficiently respond: it had all the makings of a successful project.

As the name suggests, a Data Scientist is a scientist. Essentially, his job is to process and observe data.

His mission is usually to obtain adequate data, assess its quality and richness, analyze it and translate a «business» problem into mathematical equations using statistical models.

group news

GROUP / DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION IN 30 SECONDS

USA / CIRCLE K

SECURITY / AIRBUS GROUP

BIG DATA / DATALYSE PROJECT

GROUP / LIFE SCIENCES

GROUP / FINANCE

Keep up with the Group’s latest news at www.businessdecision.com

Through its Herewecan agency, Business & Decision created and launched an advertising campaign highlighting the significant changes brought about by disruptive technologies. An animated video showed the path followed by information as well as those creating and enriching it in a stream-like continuous flow. Business & Decision assists its customers in the organization and analysis of large volumes of data.

Circle K, a chain of local grocery stores, deployed with the assistance of Business & Decision, MIcrosoft’s Office 365 platform across its entire organization and in all its business locations. The deployment initially included the hardware, migration and software updates for all American points of sale but was later extended to all of its locations around the world.

Within the context of its communication program to raise awareness amongst its employees regarding security issues, Airbus Group entrusted Metaphora, a Business & Decision subsidiary specialized in change management, as well as the Master films production company, with the production of a film on the theme «Make our Company secured.» Last October 15, this film was awarded a Dauphin d’Or in the Human Resources category, at Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards.

After one year of research work, the business and academic partners of the Datalyse project have presented the first Big Data application prototypes. Several areas were explored, amongst which Datacenter management dedicated to network and traffic analysis, public data accessibility, Digital Marketing for the optimization of retail websites and performance in retail.

To further consolidate its skills, the Group’s Life Sciences division acquired Ceri Médical, a Paris-based company specialized in pharmacoepidemiological studies and clinical trials. Concurrently, the Group also partnered with Japanese Group CAC EXICARE to provide services and expertise in the CDISC data standards field to customers operating in the Japanese pharmaceutical industry.

Business & Decision’s reported turnover for 2015’s first Half-Year is €113.3 million, up 15.1% on 2014’s H1. At €2.3 million, net income (Group share) is significantly higher than previous year figures for the same period.

E-ADMINISTRATION / MONTPELLIER TOWN

Montpellier Town and Eolas set up a Web-based information campaign to promote and showcase the town’s neighborhood Councils and consolidate participatory democracy. The result of this digital campaign: over two million views on Youtube, Google Adwords and Facebook Ads.

get to better know us

Social and environmental responsibility

Business & Decision signed the United Nations’ Global Compact

The Group is committed to respecting and deploying the ten human rights, labor, environment and anti-corruption principles. These form an integral part of its values and serve as guidelines for company growth, employee well-being and long-term relationship building with customers and partners.

These ten principles strengthen our Social and Environmental Responsibility initiative which has always been based on three traditionally upheld corporate values: respect, humility and excellence.

Business & Decision involved in COP21

The Group’s eco-friendly Datacenter featured in the Climate solutions Hub which focused on innovations combining technological performance with energy efficiency.

With the phenomenal growth in Internet use, by both businesses and individuals, Datacenters have become a major source of energy consumption.

Business & Decision Eolas has risen to the challenge of providing to its users and customers a first-rate facility in terms of energy efficiency. The company has thus not only helped reduced greenhouse gas emissions but also contributed to the development of the digital economy.

Business & Decision was awarded the 2015-2016 Happy Trainees label which honors excellence in trainee reception and support.

Some fifty trainees, welcomed at Business & Decision’s regional agencies in France helped evaluate their employer based on a series of criteria such as workplace environment, management, motivation and even fun and happiness level. Out of the 1,000 rated companies, only 89 received the label.

Business & Decision is particularly proud of the role it plays in creating a meaningful experience for school and university students alongside its teams and wishes to thank them for expressing their satisfaction in a survey carried out by the www.meilleures-entreprises.com website.