Business analytics-at-scale provider GoodData Corp. is releasing new technology that enables customers to embed analytics and machine learning capabilities into existing applications and workflows.

The company is positioning the new features as a “change in strategy” following an earlier repositioning around analytics integrated into applications. The company said its analytics can now be embedded in most popular workflow and corporate applications (pictured) with the use of application program interfaces. Machine learning can be used to aid in routine business decision-making and to streamline workflows through automation of routine tasks.

Chief Executive Roman Stanek drew an analogy to the Google Calendar feature that advises a user when to leave for a meeting based upon predictive traffic. “We can make a suggestion or the decision based on a person’s confidence level,” he said. “You can build the smart business application, allow it to learn while measuring trust that results from the predictive model and then fully automate the process or give you the ability to intervene.”

In a research report commissioned by GoodData, Nucleus Research Inc. forecast that 90 percent of analytics for business users will eventually be embedded in other core applications. GoodData said it sees particularly strong potential for machine learning-enhanced applications in the financial services, retail, healthcare and accounting industries.

GoodData is distinguishing itself from other business intelligence platforms by taking a broad functional focus. “We focus on process augmentation versus targeting one user type such as a data scientist or analyst,” Stanek said.

The company is deploying machine learning as part of its broader charter of targeting actionable business outcomes, he said. “For example, GoodData can give customers insights into what they’ve sold, predict what they will sell next and help them differentiate what was a good versus a bad sale,” Stanek said.

Image: GoodData