Women in Tech Interview: Trends in SaaS, AI & Analytics

African enterprises are starting a migration to SaaS and cloud services. Julia Nill shares insights on how enterprises are taking advantage of the move and related applications like AI and analytics. 

As Enterprise Solutions director at Meltwater EMEA based in Cape Town, Julia Nill needs to stay on top of these trends. Meltwater is a SaaS company that develops media monitoring and business intelligence software, and Nill  has worked and travelled across Africa, Middle East and Europe, managing and growing several different teams in the organisation.

What are some of the most interesting use cases you’ve seen AI Driven Data Analytics being applied to?

We’ve seen some really interesting use cases for applying AI driven data analytics in the financial services industry. For example, AI and big data can be leveraged to detect fraud or potential money laundering; it can also be used to improve credit scoring and investment strategy.

We’ve also seen a lot of interest in implementing big data to improve supply chain monitoring. It’s really important for companies to be aware of wider macro issues that could impact any of their crucial suppliers or partners. For example, monitoring the effect Coronavirus has on suppliers located in countries that are most impacted.

In your opinion, what is an effective approach to working with a large amount of data and what value can enterprises get from analysing different data types?

First it is important to identify a problem you want to solve, for example, "I need to understand my customers better." Then you can work towards answering that question efficiently using the right data types. Companies can find themselves going down a very expensive rabbit hole if they don't start with a specific goal in mind. Simply asking "what insights can I get from this data I have collected" is far too broad and can lead to a lot of wasted time and resources.

An effective approach also entails looking at correlations between different data types and the aggregate insights they surface. For example, while it’s interesting to know you saw an 80% increase in Share of Voice last year, it’s even more interesting to look at the correlation between Share of Voice and Market Share.

What are some of the ways in which African businesses have used your competitive intelligence data to develop strategies or identify competitive gaps?

African businesses have found value in using Meltwater’s global capabilities and localising our family of solutions to compliment their own local needs.

Our client, Casino and Resort, is an award-winning hospitality and entertainment company operating 12 properties across Southern Africa. Peermont uses Meltwater to gain valuable insights on developing industry key trends and how their competitors are leveraging them. Using this information, they were better placed to carve out a unique and differentiated position, which in turn strengthens their role in the industry.

South African sustainable manufacture-retail company, Ballo, also used Meltwater to grow their presence through enhanced PR efforts. Media intelligence allowed them to find a gap in new international markets that were in demand for their products. Equipped with this knowledge, Ballo executed a more targeted PR strategy which helped them reach a wider and untapped audience, ultimately leading to an increase in sales.

These are just two practical examples of specific African businesses, and there are countless more. The commonality between our African clients is that partnering with Meltwater has been beneficial in helping them grow; our solutions provide trusted accurate data that is measurable and gives businesses actionable insights needed to inform strategic decision making.

Meltwater has many subsidiaries, how do determine market fit for SaaS products especially African markets?

Out of the top 5 fastest growing economies in the world, 3 of them are African countries (Rwanda, Senegal, Ethiopia). As a company that entered Africa at the same time as Google, we know that when it comes to African markets, it is booming economically and technologically.

When it comes to determining which African markets are fit for SaaS products, we take into consideration factors like internet penetration, social media usage, and mobile adoption. Over half a billion Africans have access to the internet. This means that African businesses now have access to more data than ever before, so as a data-driven solutions company, it’s a natural fit for us.

Meltwater tries to be as ‘on the ground’ as possible. This helps us directly understand local pain points experienced by companies while allowing us to deliver local and relevant consultation. With over 10 years of experience in Africa, we appreciate that business here is done based on trust. Unlike in developed markets where things lean more towards self-serve, African markets more often than not prefer conversations to happen in person. This is why we have local consultants that travel to meet clients in countries across Africa.

Meltwater now has a presence in South Africa and Kenya with over 70 staff in the region, what are some of the products widely used by your Africa based enterprise clients?

The majority of our Enterprise clients use our core media intelligence tool, amongst other solutions, since it’s so adaptable and can help solve an array of business problems. If they have their own BI tool, it’s not uncommon for them to invest in Meltwater API and blend our data with other data points they’re analysing outside of Meltwater. That way they can gain a more rounded view of their business and the landscape they operate in.

While reporting is made easy in the Meltwater media intelligence tool, for more advanced business goals or challenges, our clients prefer to leverage our team of experienced analysts based in our Cape Town office to create bespoke reports that answer their specific questions.

News feeds are also popular amongst our African customers. Using this solution, our clients are able to handpick and distribute the most important and relevant content surfaced from Meltwater media intelligence. For example, we often find our clients using internal newsfeeds to share how their latest product release was received by their audience and media, competitor benchmarks, industry trends, R&D insights and more. They also leverage customised news feeds on their website via RSS to showcase their brand in the media or present topical industry news. This helps their website become a ‘go to’ source for relevant information, elevating their thought leadership positioning while boosting SEO at the same time.

Do you build your software in-house or do you outsource? What combination of coding frameworks and languages are included in your technology stack?

Yes, we build our software in-house. Our data and enrichments are made available to developers through our data platform and APIs, via a JSON output.

Meltwater is great at successfully using a unique combination of advanced AI systems (i.e. Data, Search, Enrichments, Analytics, Signals) to gather deep insights which are then made available to our customers through our data platform and signals solution.

We are committed to driving innovation in this space and being the market leader in what we do. We have the most data in our industry, and we have the widest array of tools to help analyse that data.

In your experience, what is the key to ensuring a company is compliant with all laws, regulations and standards that are applicable to their area of responsibility?

It’s all about people. You need the right people in your teams who know their industry, their market and the laws that underpin business processes in the region.

Meltwater is great at successfully using a unique combination of advanced AI systems (i.e. Data, Search, Enrichments, Analytics, Signals) to gather deep insights which are then made available to your customers through your data platform and signals solution. Is company culture an enabler of this success?

Our company culture is most certainly an enabler of success. Meltwater is full of ambitious people and we have big plans for the future.

Our values-based approach has played a prominent role in the success of the company. Our values are at the core of our culture, and they can be summed up by the acronym MER, which means “more” in Norwegian.

Meltwater’s culture is based on a fundamental belief in people and the potential they possess. We focus on hiring bright, ambitious and hardworking talent, rather than looking for people who possess generic skills that they can learn on the job. Creating an environment where our people are motivated by their colleagues to discover new strengths and deliver unmatched value to our clients is paramount for a forward thinking organisation like Meltwater.

What’s unique about Meltwater’s API and what business intelligence platforms can it connect with?

What makes our APIs unique is the wide range of data we have access to across news and social media, as well as our advanced enrichments, like entity recognition and sentiment detection in 17 different languages. We can connect to any business intelligence platform that accepts a JSON file - which is pretty much all of them.

What do you think is the best part of being a female leader in the tech industry and what advice would you give to women looking to break into the tech field?

I’m fortunate enough to be surrounded by smart and ambitious women, both in and outside of work on a daily basis. Our management layer is 50% female in the African region and I’m proud to be positively disrupting the societal standards of what women in the workplace, and in the technology sphere, should be. For me, the best part of being a female leader in tech is having the ability to positively change the future for others. Knowing that I can be a light and pioneer in this space by creating paths for more women to follow suit is something that drives me.

I believe one of the biggest challenges that women face in the workplace is “Imposter Syndrome”. This is when one has the inability to take credit for their accomplishments and has a persistent internalised fear of being exposed as a "fraud". My advice to women who resonate with this is to know your worth and remember that if you are in a position, it’s because you’ve worked hard and deserve to be there! As Miss Universe, Zozibini Tunzi said, “Take up space.” There is a seat waiting for you at the table - be bold and come join us.

Finally, it’s our responsibility to challenge stereotypes and not succumb to them. Thankfully this is being echoed across all industries and is a common theme across pop culture right now; the future has never looked so bright. STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) may form the foundation for many tech careers, but the opportunities and options available to you are far and wide. From Political Science and App Development to Cybersecurity and Chemical Engineering, now is the time to feel encouraged by your passion for tech to break into the field.

Excerpts originally published in CIO Online here and here.

Feel free to check out Women in Tech Interviews: Africa Edition : Business Leadership in Emerging Markets

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