Link Analytics
Productization Of Analytics-Key To Solving High-Value Problems

"We're not a consulting company. We're not a software company. We're a Big Data Analytics Solutions company, focused on repeatable technology that answers complex high-value questions," says Dr. William Hakes, Co-Founder and CEO of Link Analytics.

Dr. Hakes believes that you don’t need more bodies, or more advice, what you need is faster and better technology-driven solutions. Link Analytics makes analytics accessible to analysts, statisticians, marketers, and C-suite executives and helps embed them into their clients' most important enterprise-wide decisions.

According to Dr. Hakes, Link “productizes” analytics in two ways. Link has built existing Analytical Solutions which address high-value problems faced by Global Communications Service Providers (CSPs). But Big Data also presents new problems, often that existing solutions or tools cannot solve. Link addresses this marketplace gap via its Analytical Engines, essentially custom-building analytical technology to make its clients' existing technology smarter. An example of this is Ciena, where Link has embedded its custom-built Network Optimization Software inside Ciena's new Software Defined Networking (SDN) technology.

Link’s team of data scientists, computational mathematicians, operations researchers, systems engineers, statisticians, analysts, and developers hail from some of the world's most advanced universities, labs, and Fortune 100 teams. With deep experience serving the needs of the Communications industry globally, working with some of the largest data sets in the world, Link has a unique ability to bring internal client teams together.

According to Dr. Hakes, "We often are the connection point between the CTO and CMO."

"Many companies only provide marketing analytics as a service, with large teams of consultants, but we see a lot of pressure on that business model," says Sean Groer, Co-Founder and Chief Analytics Officer for Link. Link takes core concepts from analytics services, and embeds them into technology, creating repeatable and actionable solutions and client deliverables. "Our Big Data analytics solutions offer lasting value for our clients," says Groer.

Link offers a flagship platform called M.I.N.E., - "Monetize Intelligence from Network Events." This solution stack addresses key communications industry pain points in the areas of Network Transformation, Customer Experience, and Competitive Intelligence. Link's M.I.N.E. Solutions automate the insights generated from any CSP's network events, from mobile devices, to set-top boxes, to M2M. These solutions inform media strategies, improve customer targeting, and help create a new framework for the rapidly-growing CSP ecosystem.

Another unique aspect of Link's business is that their solutions are platform agnostic. According to Groer, "While our data center runs on Hadoop and Netezza, we are flexible and work on any system required, often behind our clients’ firewalls." Such flexibility is a real advantage for Link, from a speed and affordability standpoint, according to Groer.

What's next for Link Analytics? According to Dr. Hakes, "Now that we're entrenched in the U.S. market, we're starting to penetrate Western Europe. We're looking forward to growth in Canada, Asia, and Latin America in 2014."