In the past three months alone, we’ve seen countless mainstream news stories on data and, let’s be honest, very few of them positive. But let’s think about this for a moment, the data economy: Facebook (for example) doesn’t physically make anything, there are no logistics involved, it’s free for ‘consumers’, it’s available worldwide and the information it holds is arguably the most valuable commodity to any business – it’s all data. It recently lost 20% of its value but that barely made a dent in Mark Zuckerberg’s Forbes billionaire listing (he went from fourth to sixth in one day), and why not? Because data is king.

Organisations across all sectors are now dealing with huge volumes of data, and we’re increasingly seeing people realise just how valuable it is, whether it’s in a database, or sensor data, as manufacturing businesses move further towards automation.

Businesses looking to gain meaningful insight into their operations by understanding their data often find it to be more difficult than it should be. And it’s too expensive to bring multiple sets of data together while needing a data scientist to interrogate it. Really, the people within organisations are best placed to cross-examine their own data. As the domain experts, their knowledge and understanding is unmatched – so it comes down to accelerating the accessibility of that data. We need to ensure that it can be accessed in real time by the people who can affect real change; The important insights gained from data means business decisions are based on data analysis.

Panintelligence started life as a finance technology company that built end-to-end lending systems for big financial intermediaries like banks. In finance, people have been using data analytics to inform and automate decisions for a long time. We realised that we could take this technology outside the finance industry and allow a wider audience to benefit from those tools.

Our product has the intelligence to provide data insights, automated decisioning, and predictive modelling, and we’re bringing an affordable model to SMEs in sectors such as Education and Healthcare. It doesn’t move any data either, so it was GDPR compliant before GDPR existed.

In the business world, access to this data can have a massive impact on financial growth; in the public sector, it can help identify people at risk – it has even helped save lives. For example, the software can help radiology departments identify safe levels of exposure to radiation and adapt their practices accordingly. Panintelligence has transformed the way people use data to improve organisational performance and is working to transform what data analytics companies should be – a force for good – by breaking down the barriers and mystery around data tech and unleashing the true value of data.

The healthcare sector uses data to predict which patients are likely to miss medical appointments, the educational sector can identify students likely to miss a class and are more likely to drop out, and the finance sector can see which transactions are most likely to be fraudulent. Identifying change in this way is important as it helps decision makers manage risk and understand their customers better to drive engagement. Only by putting data into decision makers’ hands instead of techies’, can it be really understood and acted upon appropriately.

It’s all about the double bottom line; data analytics for social change along with fair commercial competition and for organisational benefit, improving outcomes for learners, patients and those without big budgets. Helping SMEs and the public sector compete with the big boys.

We’re fighting for data to be change maker, not just a king maker, and as a value- led business with a social conscience, we choose to put the power in the hands of the many.