First Look – Update on InfoCentricity Xeno

I got an update from InfoCentricity recently. InfoCentricity are a software company focused on delivering a web-based, advanced predictive analytics workbench (Xeno). They were founded back in 2000 have been releasing various components of their Xeno platform since then as well as a first application based on this platform (Campaign Analyzer). Xeno4 is the new architecture and is starting to roll out with a new Decision Trees product (Trees4) in 2012 (the rest of the platform to follow in 2012/2013). Their initial focus has been financial services and retail marketing as well as the data bureaus serving those markets. Most of their customers access the software as SaaS and also work with InfoCentricity for analytic consulting support when building advanced predictive analytic models.

InfoCentricity is focused on helping clients extract the maximum value from their data by deriving actionable insights. They see themselves as transformative not disruptive – adding value to existing analytic infrastructure by being collaborative, data store agnostic and fast/flexible as well as by providing knowledge-transfer through their analytic consulting. InfoCentricity sells directly in the US (and through partners internationally) with a development team based in Novato, California.

Xeno Pro modules are Pro Scorecard, Pro Trees and Pro Clusters. These sit on a base layer supporting variable generation, analysis and reporting and data import/export.

• Pro Scorecard supports automated performance inference and all the various predictive scorecard bells and whistles. The new version supports continuous predictors allowing, for instance, compound scores based on inputs that are also scores, to be developed more effectively. This also supports multiple performance objectives – say a primary objective of managing risk and a secondary one of revenue. This product is squarely aimed at those trying to build the most sophisticated predictive scorecards possible.
• Pro Trees supports classification and regression, segmentation and decision tree/strategy development and provides a highly interactive tree builder environment – data driven but analyst guided. This is in limited release at present and the full release is expected soon on the new platform.
• Pro Clusters supports exploration and segmentation development. InfoCentricity’s clustering implementation handles many of the data challenges inherent with traditional k-means clustering such as discrete variables, missing data, and variables of different scale.  Typical workflow is supported with tabular and graphical cluster profiles for ease of evaluation.

Users are large financial services companies (some of which have 100+ modelers using the product), credit data providers and direct marketing vendors. These are overwhelmingly also users of other sophisticated analytic tools and use InfoCentricity to boost the performance of the models they build.

The Xeno4 architecture is based on EXTJS for UI, Zend for the business layer, SQL DB and a proprietary vertically partitioned database and C/C++ for the core analytic engines. The whole architecture remains browser based but is moving to Web 2.0 with more drag and drop and an increasingly visual user experience. They are working to move all their existing products to this architecture while continuing to develop the engines and expect to be done in 2013. The product mostly runs as SaaS from a pair of co-location facilities but can also be run onsite.