KPMG starts an analytic lab

It is often said that the biggest problem with big data and analytics is not the technology needed to hold and manage the data, or to run the analytical processes themselves. Instead, it is knowing what are the real questions that need to be asked, and what the answers mean in terms of adding real value to a business.

Sometimes, this can mean that a business requires some outside help, and providing that is what seems to be underpinning what KPMG, one of the big global accountancy and consultancy operations, is calling its Insights Lab. This is a virtual R&D centre that will serve as a global innovation hub, designed to incubate and develop data-driven business solutions for KPMG member firms’ clients.

This is the latest step KPMG has taken in recent months to expand its portfolio of data & analytics (D&A) solutions and services, with new innovative solutions to help member firms’ clients unlock the value of their data.

Last November, KPMG International announced the launch of KPMG Capital - a fund created to accelerate innovation in D&A services and solutions. Since December, member firms in the US, UK and Australia have announced a number of acquisitions or partnerships that are designed to offer D&A and digital solutions to clients, helping them manage risk and cost, as well as driving growth.

The Insights Labs will be the global R&D resource for D&A solutions. It will undertake R&D for the assets acquired by KPMG Capital, as well as for existing KPMG intellectual property.   The Lab, with hub locations in the UK, US and India, will provide an environment where new D&A applications can be developed. In addition, ‘proof of concept’ designs can be demonstrated and verified, and new ideas incubated.

“The Insights Labs are intended to fill a critical gap for clients,”said Alwin Magimay, Partner and UK Leader of Digital & Analytics at KPMG.“While companies are quickly pursuing strategies to capture and examine their data what we’re providing is an environment for putting data-driven solutions to the test. The Labs were designed with input from member firms’ clients and alliance partners, and will help them to explore and pressure-test new applications and simulate real scenarios to derive insights faster.”

Critical areas for enhancing data-driven decision making – and those that will be the first to go through KPMG’s Insights Labs R&D process – will initially include new applications for customer analytics, competitive positioning, regulatory compliance and predictive modelling for clients in financial services, telecommunications, healthcare and life sciences and retail.

The Labs are based on prototype lab environments in which KPMG firms’ professionals work with clients to test data-driven applications and derive the essential insights needed to address a complex business issue.

“Helping our clients create `actionable insights’ from data is something we are really passionate about and the KPMG Insight Labs have been created to accelerate this pace of innovation in a creative and secure environment,” Alwin said. “We will bring together specialists from KPMG member firms and the broader business community to enable clients to experience first-hand the ‘art of the possible and the ‘art of the probable’ in leveraging their data for faster, more insightful decisions.”