A software company that appears to be named after a Batman cartoon graphic indicating a punch to the jaw has released a new version of its cloud-based data analytics service.
Palo Alto, Calif.-based Kapow Software-and, yes, it is pronounced “kuh-POW”-launched Katalyst v8.2 as a self-service analytics tool into which business people can tap whenever they need it. The key to accessibility is its subscription model-there is nothing to install and test-and its intuitive user interface.
The idea is to make it faster and easier to integrate big data-type data streams to enable real-time analytics and the best possible use of internal, external, structured and unstructured data.
“Studies have shown that most companies, on average, make use of only about 5 percent of their business data, because the bulk of their data is siloed and cannot be accessed or analyzed easily,” CTO and founder Stefan Andreasen (pictured below) told eWEEK. “If we can help them just get to 6 or 7 percent, we’ve made progress.
“This analytics tool can help your company make more intelligent decisions and/or help streamline or optimize processes-whether it’s automation or some type of integration.”
Katalyst 8.2 can organize, integrate and analyze data from streams as diverse as legacy, on-premise, social media, partner, B2B, competitor, e-commerce, blogs and news sites, as well as location-based and mobile data, Andreasen said.
Speaks to Both IT and Line-of-Business People
The Kapow service is one that speaks to both IT and line-of-business people at an enterprise, and thus can bring them together (when they most often work separately) to solve common research needs.
“We’re seeing a lot of interest from our customers in data that’s outside the firewall, such as cloud, mobile and social media data, because they want to turn that into Web intelligence,” Andreasen said. “Social media monitoring, brand monitoring, as well as supply chain optimization.
“When these analytics are done sooner, CFOs look at this and say, ‘This could mean millions and millions of dollars for us on our balance sheet.’ Those are the types of optimization projects we’re working on.”
Kapow can deliver integration projects as much as 90 percent faster and at 80 percent less cost than traditional methods, with 100 percent data accuracy, Andreasen said.
The company has about 500 customers, including NetApp, Audi, Commerzbank, Intel, Morgan Stanley, Vodafone and dozens of federal agencies, Andreasen said.