Thought Leaders in Big Data: Interview with Constantin Delivanis, CEO of BDNA (Part 5)

Sramana Mitra: Domain-specific business logic that allows you to contextualize. You cannot contextualize anything without domain-specific business logic.

Constantin Delivanis: That is correct. We have a massive catalog with roughly 500,000 products and roughly 35 million data points that allow to add context. Of course there is logic, you are right. You take this data that is now contextualized and you know, out of those 450,000 desktops, which can be migrated because all their applications are compatible with Windows 7, and this data now gets fed.

SM: Let me turn the question around. How many applications are out there – applications like Service Now – that are consuming your data as a service and working as downstream applications on top of your data?

CD: I would say at least 100.

SM: Are they all in the domain of IT, or are there other applications where you are seeing use of your data as well?

CD: They are all in the domain of IT.

SM: That is fine. For any business to be successful, it has to find a niche where there is immediate application. It looks like you have found your niche in the IT area. I think what you are doing is very well crafted and thought through.

CD: Your questions are very good – you are hitting the nail on the head. The same thing now applies to other domains.

SM: That is why I asked you whether you are separating between the pure horizontal data layer and the contextualization layer, where there is need for business logic or not. The minute you go outside of the IT domain, you are going to run out of contextual business logic and you will not be able to complete the whole thing without specific work on that business domain.

CD: I slightly defer from that. We have done it with medical devices – RFID enabled devices. The big challenge is to be able to create the process and the logic. IT is probably the most difficult one to do because of the rapid change.

SM: Yes and no. You will discover a different domain and a different range of vocabulary the minute you go to manufacturing, for example. I spoke with somebody at GE, and he talked about the Internet of Things and the way he is looking at it. That world is more of the manufacturing world, as it pertains to manufacturing and equipment management. This is a different vocabulary and contextual logic. I am not saying for a minute that you cannot do it, it is just that you have a different business logic vocabulary that you have to develop on top of the horizontal infrastructure in order to crack each of these new domains.

CD: That is absolutely correct.

SM: It is very interesting what you are doing.  Constantin, this was an excellent conversation. Thank you.

CD: I appreciate your time.

This segment is part 5 in the series : Thought Leaders in Big Data: Interview with Constantin Delivanis, CEO of BDNA
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