Data-driven decisions sound like a spell from the wonderland with the potential to propel businesses to never-seen heights. But the truth is, that many companies do not have the know-how of the process, as to where the data can be gathered from and how to derive insights from the acquired data. Data intelligence platforms come to the rescue with required data intelligence so that companies do not have to squander their valuable resources over dubious data-based strategies. Data Sutram is an AI-enabled data intel platform working relentlessly toward helping companies from diverse sectors to achieve time-bound solutions through their novel data-analytics solutions. Analytics Insight has engaged in an exclusive interview with Aisik Paul, Co-Founder & CTO, Data Sutram.

1. With what mission and objectives, the company was set up? In short, tell us about your journey since the inception of the company?

We had joined a high-growth startup that was designing analytics solutions for a variety of enterprises including banks, retail brands, and more. During this stint, we observed that the biggest challenge to businesses looking to adopt data-driven processes was the availability of the right data. Most of the ML models we designed would end up becoming garbage-in, garbage out. Eventually, when this organization filed for an IPO we decided to step out and work towards legitimate, sustainable solutions to address this fundamental problem.

Devices like mobile phones were impossible to imagine earlier. But years later, they are a necessity. Humans have de-complicated machines over the years, making them friendlier and more convenient to use. That is the direction Data Sutram wants to head toward. We not only want to be a warehouse of alternative or non-conventional data sources but also make data a commodity that everyone can use in any situation. We keep exploring new ways to use such data and create solutions, as we are keen on developing the impact, small or big.

2. Please brief us about the products/services/solutions you provide to your customers and how they get value out of it?

Data Sutram is an AI-driven platform that provides Intel on People & Places with data from 250+ sources. The proprietary AI and ML-driven data engine automatically convert raw unstructured sources of data from satellites, mobile phones, POS machines & several other sources to create insights that capture how people live & behave, available for any location in varying levels of granularity. These insights are consumed by several companies in Financial Services, Retail, E-commerce, Manufacturing, etc. through APIs or SDKs or Data Sutram's proprietary geospatial platform.

1. A brief description of the tangible benefits to internal & external stakeholders:

2. Increase Loan Book Size

3. Increase Profitability of Branches/ATMs/Sites

4. Increase ROI of Marketing

5. Reduce NPAs

6. Reduce Marketing Spend

1. A brief description of the intangible benefits to internal & external stakeholders:

2. Identify new business opportunities: Loan disbursements, credit cards, ATM sites, Branch sites

3. Determine business potential to benchmark performance & understand market gaps

4. Alternative Data Scorecards – Helping in better credit underwriting, and fraud analysis with data from over 250+ sources

5. Strategy for financial inclusion & growth: map the extent of penetration of digital payment methods, identify gaps, and plan targeted strategies to enhance financial inclusion

6. Intelligent resource planning and field force navigation: smart lead generation with accurate data about the leads, lead visualization, field force would know exactly who, where, when, and how to target the leads

3. How are disruptive technologies like IoT/Big Data Analytics/AI/Machine Learning/cloud computing impacting today's innovation?

AI and related technologies are here to solve problems for both individuals and industries across the globe. Empathetic solutions are worked upon and set to be the future, aimed to bridge the gap between the demand and supply of AI implementation in business processes. Everyone in the industry is taking tangible steps toward data intelligence, which is going to be helpful for companies like us to add more value to the ecosystem.

4. How does your company's rich expertise help uncover patterns with powerful analytics and Machine Learning?

Data Sutram's AI and ML-driven data engine is a proprietary technology built in-house, that automatically processes, cleans, and catalogs raw and unstructured data in any format, geotags it and combines it to churn out useful trends, and creates insights that capture how people live and behave, available for any location up to 100m granularity.

This engine can also inject client-side internal data of businesses and enrich the analytics of our location intelligence, all while keeping the data protected in secure servers, managed and tracked by APIs, and regularly updated. This automated pipeline has a unique, state-of-the-art architecture with visualization screens at par or superior to other GIS data competitors in the market.

5. Where do you see growth coming in for the sector?

They always say data is endless. Each activity, each second spent generates tons of data; and as more data streams are introduced, more avenues open for companies like us to provide better solutions. AI and Analytics are not only solving problems for businesses, but the granularity also brings better insights into the behavioral aspect of people and places. With more unstructured data or traditionally available data, we are slowly transitioning towards an addition, addition of behavioral understanding from alternative data. Soon it won't be about the data sources the companies use but also the methods and technology companies use to generate intel and insights.

6. What is the edge your company has over other players in the industry?

Data Sutram's 250+ sources (157million smartphones, 20+ satellites, POS/Card Machines, etc.) create a net effect on the quality of each solution provided to the businesses. As a result, we can provide more accurate and precise insights to our customers.

We are not only an alternative data company, but we are also service providers. Our service model helps businesses by providing them the infrastructure to incorporate the insights and our solutions. Subsequently, we enhance businesses to be more data-driven and build up by adding value to their existing processes.

Even today, many large companies or small setups do not fully understand what data is and the value it brings to the table. Data Sutram wants to make data accessible in terms of the source and with a fresher perspective of making data a friendly addition to every business, be it from any sector. A more significant part of accessibility is driven by convenience, and Data Sutram is building that bridge.

7. Where are we going from here?

India is uniquely positioned to pivot to the top of the data economy in the Global South. The ripples of change are here — most companies have started hiring data science teams and investing in creating a data-driven economy. Data Sutram aims to consolidate its position as a market leader in this "data as a service" business across developing nations & emerging markets. The company plans to expand its presence in Vietnam and Indonesia in Southeast Asia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the Middle East. Besides, it also plans to enter North Africa by next year.

8. Which industry verticals are you currently focusing on? And what is your go-to-market strategy for the same?

Our current focus is on the BFSI, Pharmaceutical & Retail Sectors. Developing a suitable PMF (product market fit) was a challenge, but the larger issue was finding a suitable sector, to begin with. Given the not-so-data-savvy condition of most enterprises in India, we chose to target the BFSI sector, which is closest to being data inclusive and is constantly evolving to keep up with the technological development of the country.

Our marquee clients include Paytm [NSE: PAYTM], ITC [NSE: ITC], Amazon Pay, Pine Labs, Mswipe Technologies, and RBL Bank [NSE: RBLBANK], and Wellness Forever, among others. We also supply data to some leading pharmaceutical firms. Our eventual goal is to build a horizontal data firm, where the right information is accessible and available for businesses to come and build analytics on top of it.