Teradata to introduce new 'big data' analytic solutions to Egypt

Teradata has “big” plans for one of the most strategically located countries in the region when it comes to analyzing “big data” to change the way Egyptian companies do business.

Teradata Corporation offers database technology and consulting services while focusing on enhancing intelligence through data analytics.

“Next year I can tell you, we will have a growth plan,” Khalid Hammouda, general manager of Teradata Egypt, said.

“Earlier this year we acquired AfterData, a prominent inventor of big data analytics, and in early 2012, we plan to introduce AfterData solutions to our clients in Egypt,” he said.

In January 2011, Teradata acquired Aprimo, an integrated marketing software corporation, also a global leader in data analysis. Early next year, the company plans to introduce Aprimo solutions to customers for the first time in Egypt.

While the idea of analyzing “big data” is a relatively new concept, globally, Hammouda pointed out that its introduction in Egypt is perfectly timed.

By introducing these new services in Egypt, banks or telecommunications companies will be able to thoroughly analyze the abundance of information coming in from social networks in order to better serve their customers and clients.

“Currently in Egypt, you have a majority of youth and you need to know what they want in order to better serve them and to create more services,” Hammouda told Daily News Egypt in an exclusive interview.

Ultimately, with the way the world is changing, global companies will have to change the way they reach out to customers and future clients. Marketing techniques will also change as consumers change their habits. This is where Teradata comes in.

“This is exactly what AfterData software will allow us to do. Banks or telecommunications companies have their account where they store information; they will now have the option of adding big data, the information coming in from social networks.”

From customer information and transactions, to company operations and history, sensory data, and, even in its rawest state, from social networking websites — “big data” churns out business intelligence (BI) that is then utilized to refocus companies’ core strategies.

Currently, Teradata’s clientele includes Abn Amro bank, Ace Hardware, American Airlines, Ameristar Casinos and Apple Computers.
Its clients in Egypt are mostly big enterprises in the telecom and banking sectors as well as government entities, not all of which choose to be named. Among them are Etisalat and Mobinil and there is a current focus on attracting players in the oil and gas sector, officials from the company told DNE earlier this year.

As a global company, Teradata was especially successful over the past year in the Eurozone. Despite the financial crisis and the political unrest in Europe, the company’s stocks remained steady, unlike of course, the hit the company took locally after Egypt’s January uprising.

The company’s main concern in Egypt at the moment is retention, he said. The company’s goal over the past eight months during the crisis was to “clean up house” and be prepared to overcome the year’s losses.

“Our usual annual target in Egypt used to be around LE 100 million every year,” Hammouda told DNE. “This year, we may end up losing about half of that.”

“In other countries, Teradata stocks are doing very well, we operate all over the Eurozone. Crisis is the time when you need to analyze information, to analyze your risks and that is why in Europe we were doing very well in the political communications sector.”

As for Egypt, the uprising which toppled Hosni Mubarak’s regime has been followed by turbulent economic times.

“From a business perspective, 2011 was a really tough year for everyone, we are not alone in this,” said Hammouda.

Despite the year’s challenges, the company did not have to let go of any staff members in Egypt.

“The challenge was to keep people engaged and encouraged and not to lose or layoff anyone in the team. Luckily enough, being a multinational company, we managed to move some people to work outside Egypt where they gained more experience; when the time is right they can move back.”

Teradata also trained their current employees in Egypt and installed new systems within their company to remain one step ahead when the economic situation becomes more lucid.

“At the regional level, we are now discussing next year’s plans. We agreed that things will turn out more positive, maybe not in the first quarter of 2012, but the second quarter, especially from the government’s side in Egypt, this year we practically had no government at all,” said Hammouda.

Similar to most investors and business executives, whether local or international, Hammouda hopes that by the second quarter of 2012, governmental changes and adjustments will be more stable.

Teradata currently operates in North America, Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia. Some of its most prominent customers include Wal-Mart, HEMA in the Netherlands, Mizauho Bank in Japan, JCPenney in the United States, Pfizer, Microsoft, Russian Standard Bank, Lowe’s and Macy’s.