Everyone knows the power of the Dodge Data & Analytics solution, which connects commercial construction project data, market forecasting and analytics services in a holistic manner. That solution has helped AEC professionals identify, prioritize and act on construction opportunities with data and tools that integrate and connect workflows and processes on a whole new level. Over the past few years, they’ve made an active effort to expand the reach and scope of this solution, but their recent selection of Reltio Enterprise 360 as a key component of this data platform takes that commitment to integration and connectivity to another level.
For many years now, Dodge Data & Analytics has been providing their customers with construction project leads. Lately though, those users are also focused on incorporating data associated with construction firms in addition to those project leads. As an example of what this can look like, a general contractor might want to identify specialty trade contractors that have worked on projects using a specific product in a given geographic region. That sort of connection is specifically what the Reltio platform is set to enable, but it’s just part of a bigger endeavor to provide users of all types with context.
“Creating relationships between people, companies, projects and products is a core focus for us,” said Keith Davies, CTO, Dodge Data & Analytics. “This development allows our customers to leverage data to create relationships in a whole new way. This data has previously existed in our system, but the Reltio Enterprise 360 solution unlocks the potential of that data by helping form relationships amongst these different entities. It’s effectively creating new solutions for our customers.”
As a specific example of what users can do as a result of this development, a manufacturer will now be able to look at what subcontractors have developed and delivered, but also see which projects they’ve previously worked on. If a building product manufacturer wants to run a very targeted marketing campaign in specific geographical region, they can use the Dodge Data & Analytics database to see which subcontractors have worked on these types of projects using a specific set of products. New data integration services provide users with a more holistic view that includes profiling and segmentation of data to define relationships in a much more powerful context.
Having a solution that is cloud-native also fits with the bigger Dodge Data & Analytics architectural strategy. It’s easy to talk about “data” as if it were a homogenous asset, but finance data is wholly different than customer data, and having a solution that can be utilized by systems experts as easily as the finance department in a given organization is essential. The cloud infrastructure allows the Dodge Data & Analytics solution to be utilized across an entire portfolio, which indirectly drove the selection of the Reltio solution.
“The ease of use was really a critical element for us,” Davies told SPAR3D.com. “As we were thinking about the best way to leverage the data we have, it ultimately came down to being able to link together data elements in a more automated way using machine learning. Reltio enables us to understand the underlying data and decrease the amount of manual matching that needs to occur. This process turns data into information and information into powerful insights our customers can act upon.”
This data enrichment Davies describes is connected to the concept of “certainty” that Steve Jones, Senior Director of Industry Insights Research at Dodge Data & Analytics, has spoken about. If stakeholders can be certain around the costs associated with building an automobile, why can’t others have that same certainty with the construction of the building? The answer is that there are uncertainties with the workflow and process for the construction of that building, but understanding the relationship amongst data elements can provide the proper context to reduce or even eliminate those uncertainties. Providing the right context to sort through details related to process, expectations and more can be the difference between a project that stays on budget or goes over.
“Certainty is really about decreasing the risk,” Davies continued. “We’re able to help companies in being able to reduce the risk by linking all these data elements together. Today, there’s so much data in silos that are not connected. It’s not just about us being able to look at what additional data sources we can bring in, but about how we can make connections and provide context for the digitalization of a process or workflow.”
That effort is tied into the digitalization of the construction industry itself, which has sometimes been isolated and hasn’t always delivered the value that customers have been looking for. Defining new relationships with existing data is a critical way to link these data silos together so that they’re connected. Doing so with the Reltio solution will provide a more holistic view for construction stakeholders, which enables the certainty and context that construction professionals need to stay on time and budget.
