Company Profiles - Business Intelligence Technologies
Business Intelligence Technologies |
| Taking data management to the next level by giving companies more control over their own data is opening up lucrative worldwide markets for this Melbourne-based company. |
| http://www.bitanz.com/ |
The story so far |
| Established in 2002, Business Intelligence Technologies (BIT) is a leading data management company that offers software and consultancy services to help companies know and use their own data better. Based at Melbourne's La Trobe University, BIT provides specialist solutions in data warehouse architecture, business intelligence reporting and ETL (extract, transform and load) processing whereby data is extracted from a range of sources, transformed to fit business needs, and loaded into a new data warehouse. "We wanted to focus on the next generation of data management which involves unearthing 'nuggets' of information to help companies make better decisions, improve data security and reduce the risk of fraud and money laundering," said BIT funder and chairman, Raghu Iyer. "We developed a series of tools that rapidly scan large amounts of data according to a range of searchable criteria. It isn't rocket science, but it’s very powerful in terms of extracting accurate data fast for a range of applications." In the last six years BIT has built in-depth data management knowledge for the banking, telecommunications and healthcare sectors and now has operations in Singapore, Malaysia, India and the United Arab Emirates, with planned expansions into the USA and Japan. BIT honed its expertise with two of Singapore’s major banks between 2002 and 2004, helping them clean and ratify their data, redesign their data structure and providing them with a range of new reporting mechanisms. "They were very impressed with what we could deliver. And because of our work in Singapore – which is a very sophisticated financial market – we were offered work in Malaysia and India as well," explained Raghu. |
Reaching new markets |
| BIT decided early on to focus on developing alliances with large ICT consulting firms such as EDS, Eighty Twenty Plus and MphasIS in the Asia Pacific region, rather than forming its own consulting relationships. “We realised our strength was more in analytics and product development, rather than taking on large consulting contracts, which would have put a lot of pressure on us to scale-up and employ a large number of people very quickly,” Raghu explained. “Instead, we provide key personnel who work within larger ICT consulting teams on specific business intelligence projects, which enables us to reduce our risk and focus on building another revenue stream through software development.” In 2005 BIT signed deals with MphasIS and Eighty Twenty Plus to offer customised data management solutions to companies wanting to innovate and streamline their business processes. “These firms see us as their research and development arm. And they've prompted us to move into product development and training.” To meet this growing demand, BIT has developed its own software package called PowerSuite, which includes a range of web-based business intelligence applications such as PowerEngine, PowerManager and PowerAuditor. These applications provide customised tools, reporting options and alerts that enable companies to have much greater control over their own data. BIT has also developed a similar product for the healthcare industry called the 3iCare Suite, which is used to manage electronic medical data and lifetime health records. In the last 18 months the company has signed two software reseller agreements in the Middle East (Dubai and Kuwait), and received several enquiries from Malaysia, India and the US. In addition, BIT has also established the Business Intelligence Institute, offering seminars, online training and classroom courses in business intelligence for the banking, telecommunications and healthcare sectors. More than 60 training modules have been developed and courses are now being offered in Melbourne, Bangalore, Chennai, Singapore, Dubai and Kuala Lumpur. |
Why Melbourne, Australia? |
| Having its headquarters and research facilities in Melbourne offers BIT a range of benefits, including a strong relationship with La Trobe University. The company works closely with the Computer Sciences and Engineering Department, the School of Business, the Graduate School of Management and the Department of Health Sciences, conducting research in high-end analytics and testing its concepts for product development. BIT also has access to top students for internship and possible employment. "We've had about 50 students work on projects for us to date and we've also sponsored a number of PhD candidates," said Raghu. One former student is now running a BIT office in Bombay. Another great strength of Melbourne according to Raghu is the number of senior systems architects who have high level experience in the finance sector and are willing to take on short-term assignments in Asia. "It's great because I've got access to experienced resources and as well as new ideas and energy from our students." While research remains in Melbourne, BIT is a truly global company with product development in Singapore and programming and product assembly taking place in Bangalore. |
The future |
| BIT’s next goal is to be recognised as a premier analytics company, having just released a new internet-based, handwriting recognition tool. Called the Intelligent Document Management (IDM) Suite, the application enables users to scan, store and cross-reference unstructured data (like a signature) contained in a letter or an application form. "This will enable handwritten documents to be called up easily and matched against past records – especially useful for law enforcement and forensics," said Raghu. Having completed work for leading investment services company Charles Schwab, BIT is also investigating possible alliances in the USA and hopes to enter the US market directly in 2009. |
