The appetite for robust analysis tools to support data-driven decision making is strong; and a plug-and-play solution is an attractive proposition. Cost and complexity of development have kept many businesses on the sidelines – until now.
DC-based DataRPM’s release of Instant Analytics expands access to business intelligence software to teams of all sizes. No wonder this company won DC’s hottest startup poll at Tech Cocktail’s DC mixer and startup showcase.
Instant Analytics is cloud-based analytics software for independent software vendors, large companies, small teams, and even solo entrepreneurs. It’s a white-label business intelligence package fashioned with flexibility, scalability, and the “fastest go-live in the industry,” according to its founders. For a monthly fee, users are free from the hassle of infrastructure management and free to focus on finding meaning in their data.
Instant Analytics enables the user to upload data from any source and then segment it, build ad hoc reports, publish dynamic dashboards, and invite multiple collaborators into the process. The drag-and-drop interface makes it easy for anyone on the team to create reports on the fly and even create mashups of different data sets.
“We provide out-of-the-box ability to do slice-dice and drill-downs without having to do complex configurations,” says CEO and founder Sundeep Sanghavi. “We have tried to hide as much of the complexity as possible from the users who are making, building, and using analytics, providing the flexibility to change data dynamically without having to rebuild things.”
DataRPM defines this as Data Analysis 2.0 – the ability to go beyond the model of a dedicated team of data and business analysts (Data Analysis 1.0) and cast a wider net by inviting collaboration from every level of the process.
Inspiration for DataRPM founders Sanghavi, Gautam Shyamantak, and Ruban Phukan came from building and using several analytics solutions themselves. Sanghavi founded Razorsight in 2001 and helped it become a market leader in delivering business assurance, process automation, analytics, and business intelligence to several Tier 1 communications providers. He has also held key executive positions at Arthur Andersen, Cable & Wireless, and TEOCO Corporation and founded another Business Intelligence as a Services (BIaaS) company called SearchRidge. Shyamantak is the former technical architect at Trigo, which was acquired by IBM; and Phukan was a data scientist at Yahoo and cofounder of Bixee, acquired by Ibibo. They know “how insanely difficult” and expensive it is for a company to build a custom solution and how complex it can be to use the ones currently in the market.
DataRPM is the team’s third startup in DC, and they say the biggest advantage to being in the District is their network. “We have a great network; this time we are building a Silicon Valley-type of product which would get lost in the Valley, as there are so many like us. Being in DC, we have the cool ‘buzz factor’ going for us.”
On the flipside, the biggest disadvantage? “Funding” they say. “It’s just not like the Valley.”
That said, the team did recently secure a round of angel funding in order to expand the product and its market reach.
Demand for Instant Analytics has been hot – so much so, DataRPM was faced with the challenge of scaling at a rapid rate. Sanghavi explains, “We are believers of long-term scalable solutions. So we put on our thinking hats and immediately started working on a structured go-live and customer on-boarding process. We identified areas that can be further automated for a smoother customer experience, to handle growth and scale seamlessly.”
“The big learning has been to plan early and not wait till the high tide arrives.”