AFTER inking a partnership deal that will see the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) with data analytics, Jamaica-based Denarthur Analytics and international outfit Findability Sciences are aiming to mine revenues of US$40 million from the data of Caribbean corporations which could drive productivity and innovation.

DenArthur, a telecom-grade data warehousing provider, had announced the partnership with Findability Sciences back in November last year. The Jamaican company indicated then that it aims to leverage Findability’s AI solutions to enhance the delivery of data models that drive decision-making, foster sustainable growth, and improve the competitiveness of regional companies in the global market.

According to DenArthur Ananlytics founder and CEO Ryan Simons, “For us, the AI and the data analytics aspect is part of the entire whole of helping companies get access to the data and to get real value out of their data, and we know other companies in the Caribbean region, in particular, are not taking advantage of their data sets to the extent that they really should and can. And so, from just a discussion and an understanding where Findability was coming from, we knew that, yes, we can help companies come up the maturity scale from where they are now, where they have platforms and you have the data there. So once we got to a particular point, we knew then by bringing in Findability we can go even further.”

Both technology service providers had previously collaborated on a project in Jamaica during which time they discovered synergies in working together. As a result they decided to take their journey further by entering into a mutually beneficial partnership that will see Findability expanding its footprint in the Jamaican market and the augmentation of services accelerating the growth of DenArthur Analytics.

Based in Boston, Massachusetts in the USA, Findability Sciences also has operations in Japan and India, and has spent the last decade transitioning from providing data mining and analytics services to AI.

“The expansion of territories and expansion of business is now most feasible through only partnerships. Gone are those days where companies can do everything and all [by themselves]. So, Findability Sciences is always on the lookout to see what are the opportunities in the markets, not only where we are present, in terms of expansion, but also where we are not present. So, a few months ago, earlier this year (2023), Ryan and I got introduced through our network, where Ryan had specific requirements on a project where he was looking for a partner who has a capacity to deliver just to supplement on what he already does in the Jamaican market,” Anand Mahurkur, founder and CEO of Findability Sciences, explained to the Jamaica Observer.

By complementing each other’s functions the two companies are not only using historic data to build data sets for Caribbean companies but to optmise their data models from which they can generate predictive and prescriptive information for decision-making and risk management.

A data set refers to a compilation of data around any particular subject matter, especially industry or sector related such as banking and finance and telecommunications, Mahurkur explained that there are three types of data sets: Person-to-person (P2P), such as e-mails; person-to-machine, like invoices generated from accounting software; and machine-to-machine.

“For a market like Jamaica, there is a need to really act fast. And I think this is a very smart decision on DenArthur to bring technology already tested globally to the Jamaican market so that the corporates can take benefit of it,” he said.

When asked if the urgency to introduce the combined service was due to the Data Protection Act coming into effect, Mahurkur told the Caribbean Business Report, “No, I don’t think I’m saying this from any legislation angle. It’s really the business opportunity and ever-changing global environment. So, the Jamaican corporations to compete in the global environment they need to utilise their data and, as we’ve very repeatedly used this term in the market, is data, is a new currency data, is a new oil data, is a new soil. So this theory needs to be now practised.”

Pointing to how the COVID-19 pandemic has driven digital transformation and changing patterns in commerce, he said that companies now need an apparatus to not only drive revenue but also gauge consumer behaviour.

On this note, Simons chimed in.

“So, from the Jamaican context, we know that the Jamaican companies are sitting on a whole lot of data that could be available to our use in optimising our businesses becoming more efficient and becoming more productive. You know, it’s often said that we suffer from low productivity in the Jamaican marketplace, and having a firm grasp of your own data and starting to apply AI techniques on top of that will help to change that,” he stated.

“We know that in the region we also have issues with resource constraints, economic constraints. And so, using the data and using AI will help us to make better decisions and be more productive, be more efficient with the resources that we do have because without it, I mean, we need to find a way to become more competitive in the global marketplace and this is the avenue for that,” he continued.

Not only can data analytics be used for internal decision-making, but it can also be used for “barter”, Mahurkur revealed, noting that consumer data can be traded for economic data and vice versa.

As both companies continue to operationalise their partnership, they have already reached out to a wide cross section of corporates in the Caribbean and have received “very encouraging” feedback. Given that the service they offer is not industry-specific, the data-building model can be implemented seamlessly in any company.

“We can say that there is a pipeline. Yeah, we just can’t say who’s in the pipeline,” Simons revealed to the Caribbean Business Report when quizzed further.

So far, Findability estimates that deploying its technology in areas such as telemedicine, agriculture and finance across the Caribbean has the potential to rake in millions of US dollars.

“We are targeting about a 40-plus million US-dollar market in Jamaica. Okay, so that’s the market potential we have. Probably we are the first in the market offering these services. We want to maintain that leadership position, both in terms of providing cutting edge-solutions and also acquiring more business. We are not really driven by targets, because we believe that the whole landscape is for us to acquire. So we will be maximising our efforts to acquire as much as possible business, but just here we are sitting on a $40-million opportunity per year,” Mahurkur outlined.

He added that there is also scope for the partnership as both companies continue to discover synergies and integrate functions.

“So, just remember that there is in any such partnership, it naturally begins when exploring possibilities and we’ve already done that over last year’s time… there is an opportunity; therefore, we got into this first level of integration. The next is that every market needs some customisation on products and solutions, and DenArthur has what I can call it as a tribal knowledge of what is required for Jamaican corporations. And there may be [local] intellectual property which will be created only for Jamaica or the Caribbean which may not be much applicable for the global market so that the partnership can go to the next level… and then it can go on and the sky’s the limit for this partnership,” he stated.