Thought Leaders in Big Data: Omer Artun, CEO of AgilOne (Part 3)

Sramana Mitra: The clustering itself is dynamic? Are you coming up with algorithmic clusters?

Omer Artun: That is right. The platform we use runs on a Hadoop-based framework, and it is cascading frameworking. It also has algebraic contruction tecniques (ART) integrated. This way, we can run these algorithms in a scalable, multi-tenant way. Basically, each customer gets its own clusters. Or each customer gets its own propensity model.  The whole process of pattern recognition, feature generation, feature selection, classifier design, and system design is implemented into cascading in a fully configurable way. Out of the box the marketer gets a bunch of things to use automatically. For example, if they want to predict people with green eyes, we can do that, too. >>>

Thought Leaders in Big Data: Omer Artun, CEO of AgilOne (Part 2)

Sramana Mitra: What kind of customers were you working with before you raised the money? You mentioned that you built your business in a bootstrap mode, and then demand for your company or products went up. That is when you decided to move to Silicon Valley. Tell me a bit about what happened in the pre-funding incarnation of the company. Who were the early adapters of this kind of technology? >>>

Thought Leaders in Big Data: Omer Artun, CEO of AgilOne (Part 1)

Omer Artun is the founder of AgilOne, a company which provides cloud-based predictive customer analytics. He studied at Brown University and holds a PhD in computational neuroscience/machine learning and physics. He previously worked for McKinsey & Company and for the marketing division of Best Buy. Seven years ago he decided to found his own company to apply his expertise to medium-sized businesses.

Sramana Mitra: Omer, let’s start with some context.  Tell us a little bit about your company. How long has it been in business? I know you are moving from stealth mode to a more public launch, so please give us some context.

Omer Artun: I started the company about seven years ago. I bootstrapped it from no revenue to having about 40 employees when I received the first funding.  I started the company out of firsthand frustration that I had as a marketer. I used to run marketing for a division of Best Buy – Best Buy for Business – and before that I was VP of marketing at Microwarehouse, which was a direct marketer of computers and related products. Before that I did strategic consultant for McKinsey, and I have a PhD in machine learning. When I was running these marketing departments, which had millions of customers, millions of transactions, and billions of clicks, there was so much information in this data which could be utilized [to make] better marketing decisions. >>>

Thought Leaders in Big Data: Omer Artun, CEO of AgilOne (Part 6)

Sramana Mitra: How did you convince your first couple of customers to go with you?

Omer Artun: They were people whom I helped as a consultant. Once I built up trust with them, I told them I could do what this other vendor was doing for them much cheaper and better. That is how I received my first contract. Then I got several more and after that you have a story to tell, that you have been doing this for a year or two. >>>

Thought Leaders in Big Data: Omer Artun, CEO of AgilOne (Part 4)

Sramana Mitra: What e-commerce systems do they work with?

Omer Artun: This doesn’t matter to us. It is a rest API.  Any e-commerce system can pull the data out of it. If you think about the day in a life of a marketer, we are trying to do other things than just starting up recommendations or cluster IDs. >>>

Thought Leaders in Cloud Computing: Joseph Beal, Chief Information Security Officer of CCSi (Part 4)

Sramana Mitra: What open problems or gaps do you see that are not addressed today?

Joseph Beal: One of the major issues we’re having, if you go back to BYOD [bring your own device], and the influx of mobile applications that people want, you’ll see. Look at the smartphone. It’s basically got applications you can use even if you want to manage your bank account. If you want to manage parking in D.C., we have an app now that you can download and say, “I’m parking here. I’ll pay for that automatically.” >>>

Thought Leaders in Cloud Computing: Joseph Beal, Chief Information Security Officer of CCSI (Part 3)

Sramana Mitra: Let’s talk about information security as it applies to the government and from the perspective of the cloud. What are the key drivers? What is the government’s level of concern about cyber crimes, and what are the drivers in that situation?

Joseph Beal: We focus a lot [on] APT, which is advanced persistent threat. Are such threats the nation states that are trying to get in and pull our information out? Are they the hactivists who are trying to make a name for themselves or just trying to penetrate systems? Are they criminally driven, financially backed cyber criminals who have the ability to pull the information for their own financial gain? >>>

Thought Leaders in Cloud Computing: Joseph Beal, Chief Information Security Officer of CCSI (Part 2)

Sramana Mitra: I did not realize that the government uses telecommuting.

Joseph Beal: Yes. It’s a driver. It’s a way for them to cut down on time, and they can work more efficiently.

SM: I just want to clarify: Is that something that you predict will happen or is it happening?

JB: We’re in the process. There are a lot of as-a-service offerings that the government provides that have been driven by telecommuting. There are a lot more policies across various agencies where people allow their staff to work from home or work remotely and not have to drive into the office, which could take two or three hours, and then drive home. It’s a quality-of-life issue, too, but from the government’s side, they’ve seen a lot more efficiency. A lot more work is being done because employees have access to the services they need as if they were in the office. >>>