Collecting And Storing Data Correctly
Clay’s set-up consisted of a database for information storage and report generation and a separate event message stream, which wasn’t accessible for ad hoc analytical queries
The database only saved information for seven days, which made long-term correlations impossible to generate and required Clay to know which questions it was interested in before storing it. Simply put, if the team needed any insight, the options would be limited, and a request would take days to process. Robert explains how they solved this challenge: “We saved all events (more than seven days) to the data platform, allowing for cost-efficient querying of historical data. We enabled Clay Solutions to use existing reports for future insights by dynamically changing the time window and the statistics.” Being able to retrieve the information needed from the systems and access and use data enables Clay Solutions to improve customer satisfaction and innovate services.
Alexander Bij, Big Data Specialist at Xebia Data and AI, adds:
“By integrating the data pipeline (information from the locks or keys) and data-platform with Clay’s existing monitoring and alerting toolset, employees have already been able to resolve issues quickly.”
Working Together
Xebia and Clay Solutions use Scrum to ensure a speedy and high-quality process. “We are pleased to have partnered with Xebia. How they managed the project and structured the Scrum process was impressive. We certainly learned a lot from them,” Michele adds.
Results
“Our goal was to enable Clay Solutions to use the enormous amount of data that was produced but not processed.” – Robert Rodger, Data Scientist at Xebia Data and AI.
Today, the generic and very scalable data platform built by Xebia ingests and registers new events from SALTO KS every fifteen minutes, accumulates them locally, and makes them available for short and long-term future reference. With this new platform, Xebia has reduced the time from queries to answers from days to seconds. Replacing the previous uptime model (‘always on’) with a usage model (every fifteen minutes) enables Clay Solutions to save costs while still meeting the needs of its users. Additionally, replacing a third-party solution with a custom-made platform also lowers costs.
The new platform helps Clay Solutions offer better customer service by providing insights, generating alerts, and enabling data-driven decision-making and innovation. The data platform, implemented by Xebia, empowers Clay Solutions to analyze the status of their sites. Based on this analysis, Clay Solutions is able to identify (potential) interruptions and proactively prevent them from happening. This way of working has dramatically increased customer satisfaction.
Clay Solutions has tested the platform extensively and is now ready to detect anomalies, create reports, monitor (mal)function, troubleshoot, and inform installers. They are also determining which roles they need in the team, like Product Owner and Data Scientist. The next step is to hire these experts and start collecting requests to improve and innovate Clay Solution’s services.
