Plain Concepts presents Sidra Data Platform
On 28th November, coinciding with the Singularity Tech Day event, Plain Concepts launched Sidra Data Platform.
This platform is a Data Lake solution 100 % based on Azure that will simplify the management of corporate data and enable companies to protect and make the most of all their relevant information in a quicker and more efficient way. In fact, Sidra’s initial installation is available in less than 24 hours. And it encourages organizations to start using and applying Machine Learning in their processes, helping them to exploit the information in an optimal way, thus improving decision making.
Sidra Data Platform has been implemented in more than a dozen clients such as Slater & Gordon, GroupM or Trasmediterránea. This platform targets large and medium enterprises that are addressing digital transformation processes and upgrading their data and analytical platforms. It enables them to manage large volumes of data, offers functions such as data cataloguing and governance, cost allocation to cost centers per use case, or support for GDPR requirements.
With these customers’ input “we have transformed and improved the product. For example, Sidra was initially based on Hadoop clusters. Thanks to the feedback of our clients during the early adoption phase, we have changed this to Databricks. These pilots and our current clients certainly are one of the main values of the platform; our architecture and approach are what they are thanks to these experiences over the last few years”, says Pablo Doval, Principal Data Architect at Plain Concepts.
“For years we have been developing Big Data corporate solutions for different multinational companies in verticals as diverse as banking, retail, legal and digital media. These projects provided us with the technical expertise and knowledge of the common needs of the clients and this experience has allowed us to implement a scalable and extensible solution, which has been the origin of Sidra“, says Doval.
Reduced time and costs
The main strength of the new solution is the general reduction of time and costs, both for data input into the platform and for the development of use cases. “The speed at which a company’s data system can be ready should be highlighted. In most cases, Sidra is deployed on the customer’s infrastructure in less than 24 hours, when traditionally it would have taken months of development, which is very surprising when you consider the complexity of the platform” declared Doval.
In parallel, this new tool provides high flexibility, with use cases ranging from an analytical and reporting application to a Data Labs experience, Machine Learning models or integration APIs.
It is also important to stress the “focus on data governance, both from the point of view of cataloguing the data on the platform, and of managing the data lineage. And this is visible from the modern web administration interface, or through the extensibility APIs“.
Unlike a simple operational database, Sidra plays a strategic role within a company because much of the data stored in the different partitions of the system is highly sensitive. For that reason, at Plain Concepts we decided that data should always remain in the customer’s cloud infrastructure, rather than a company-managed infrastructure, which simplifies GDPR requirements.
Slater & Gordon
Slater & Gordon, one of the most important law firms in the United Kingdom, has chosen Sidra to upgrade its data platform in order to manage one of its most complicated cases, the class action against Volkswagen over the emissions scandal.
Thanks to Sidra and its Machine Learning (ML) model, the company was able to analyze huge amounts of data –both from clients and documentary files. The use of Machine Learning (ML) models and genetic algorithms, allowed them to automatically identify the best plaintiffs to present the case before the judge, significantly reducing the cost of manual work of the legal and paralegal team.
In addition, it has been possible to integrate the various case management, financial and marketing systems into a unified platform to manage the entire process, from communication with the client to the final settlement, and all of this according to the strict regulatory standards imposed by the legal world.
Global scale and prospects
Sidra Data Platform has an international vocation. In fact, the first implementation was deployed in a client in London, and we now have clients in Spain and the UK, and are developing proofs of concept in the Netherlands and Germany.
“This platform solves problems experienced by all industries in all countries, so taking advantage of Plain Concepts global presence, our idea is to address the expansion of the product in all possible territories”, declares Doval.
