Analytics
News, events, thought leadership and more.
This article was originally written by Bob Laurent, Senior Director of Product Marketing, Alteryx
I have spent my entire professional career involved one way or another in the communications industry – first with a service provider (NYNEX, now Verizon), then with an optical networking hardware provider (Fujitsu Network Communications), and now with an analytics software company (Alteryx). So, I was really looking forward to the presentation at our recent Inspire conference by Aaron Agostini, Systems Engineer at Verizon Wireless.
Wireless service providers can conduct scores of tests on smartphones, tablets, and other devices in a lab or trial environment, but the rubber doesn’t really meet the road until thousands of handsets are in use at once within a relatively dense and stressful environment, such as a concert, convention, or major sporting event. In these types of extreme environments, handset analytics allow these providers to process the massive amount of user device-generated data in a spatial context and review handset performance (e.g., how well a handset maintains 4G/LTE speeds without dropping back to 3G or even 2G speeds).
During the session Aaron discussed how handset analytics help Verizon Wireless uncover network performance trends specific to a particular location, mobile application or handset type/version that could ultimately lead to service problems. Armed with a better understanding of their wireless network’s dynamics, RF System Performance Engineers can add network capacity to improve performance, which ultimately leads to higher customer satisfaction and lower subscriber churn rates. His slides from his presentation can be viewed here, and the audio recording of the session is archived here.
Then, after his session I had an opportunity to sit down with Aaron to discuss what life was like for him before Alteryx, as well as the impact that Alteryx is making at Verizon Wireless. I left the interview with two key takeaways:
- Alteryx is saving Aaron a lot of time compared to his previous processes that involved lots of massaging and coding in Excel, followed by moving data over to MapInfo for mapping and final presentation. Aaron said it best, “Now with Alteryx I can start with the raw data set, quickly get it cleaned up, get it into a map form, and start playing around with what I really want the map to show…It’s much more user focused and much more end user centered, and I get a product that I love every time.” Processes that used to take four hours in Excel and MapInfo can now be done in under an hour, and if an existing workflow exists in Alteryx, he can do it in minutes.
- Aaron is very excited about the new capabilities that Alteryx gives him over Excel and MapInfo. “I can look into data that I could never see before when I was using Excel and MapInfo,” said Aaron. “That’s allowed me to move in whole new directions…new insights into our business that we just didn’t have before.” One of those capabilities he specifically mentioned was predictive analytics, which will help Verizon Wireless identify the best options to grow their business and network infrastructure.
Watch this video and see how Alteryx significantly improved how Aaron did handset analytics at Verizon Wireless, as well as the new capabilities he plans to use now that he’s taken Alteryx to his new role as a Systems Engineer responsible for maintaining capacity in their wireless backhaul network.
If you want to learn more about how Alteryx is being used by communications service providers, including all four of the largest mobile operators in the United States, download our new white paper, “Unlocking Value from Big Data.”
