The 3 reasons you should be outsourcing your Data Analysis.
Three solid arguments for outsourcing your inspection data analysis.
When it comes to inspection analysis, there are many methods to choose from. One is outsourcing to external experts, but is this the best idea for your company, or should you keep those operations in-house?
This article aims to aid that decision process, by breaking it down, and presenting the key points to support you in making the right decision.
To determine the best course of action for your organization or application, you can consider the following:
- What is your core competency?
Are you already capable or would you need to invest in resources and training to expand your expertise to include the technical aspects of inspection analytics? - What is your budget?
There are costs associated with either scenario. Hiring resources and developing the necessary software platform(s) may be cost-prohibitive compared to outsourcing to a partner that is already equipped to provide analytics as a service. - Objectivity.
Your clients may appreciate that a 3rd party will have no conflict of interest when it comes to performing the inspection and delivering an unbiased or objective analysis report.
Most DSP’s (Drone Service Providers) prefer to illustrate their value by presenting a comprehensive solution. Not just “flying” and capturing the inspection data, but also performing analytics and providing a report. In short, they want to offer their clients the complete package.
But with that comes the monumental task of hiring the appropriate technical engineering that would develop the software platform, as well as personnel to perform the analytics and reporting.
If you are the owner of the assets being inspected, it is perfectly reasonable, even logical to want to keep your costs down by performing the inspection and analysis in-house. However, you will be faced with the same investment of building out staff and a platform to support this vision.
Outsourcing data analysis to an external expert such as Scopito should be a serious consideration. Think of it in practical terms; would you try to perform medical procedures within your family? Maybe, if you yourself are a Doctor. We outsource services every day of our lives, whether it is car repair, electrical or plumbing, we do not hesitate to hire an external expert to perform these services.
The advantages of 3rd party data analysis
There are tons of advantages to external data analysis, and with specialized companies popping up left, right and center, there are also plenty of options to choose from.
Time
You will be saving a lot of time outsourcing. And time is money. But data analysis is not cheap, and you should always consider if it is a viable solution, compared to what You are currently doing. Generally, the costs should not exceed the ones You have now.
However, when considering your current costs, you have to remember, that removing data analysis from your workflow, frees up time for other – possibly more valuable – tasks in your team.
If spending more time on those tasks, would increase Your overall revenue, that is worth factoring in.
Expertise
Then there is the matter of expertise. Sure, you can hire less qualified people at a lower price, but the results will be thereof. Data analysis is a key operation, and something that can have major repercussions, if not properly executed.
When you hire a third-party to analyze your data, they are specialists within their field. This means that you can rest assured, that the most valuable part of your business (Your data) is being handled accordingly.
Artificial Intelligence / AI
Most companies today claim to have functional AI, and the positive effects from this type of software, should not be disregarded.
Artificial intelligence can analyze and annotate large amounts of images in short time spans, making your inspections effortless as well as very, very accurate.
It is also worth noting, that an algorithm makes no mistakes. It will identify every faulty object, whereas a person might be tired or otherwise preoccupied, and resultantly miss something important. This is especially true, when inspection data is complex, as the margin for error there is much smaller.
Choosing to outsource your data analysis to a company utilizing and improving their AI-software, can be a major advantage for you both now and in the long run. At Scopito, Your data is constantly helping our AI learn, and the tools that it already masters, are always at your disposal.
The direction of your business
As AI gets more advanced, the days of analyzing data using human intelligence will be over. Anyone who does not have their own artificial intelligence software will have to outsource.
As a result, companies need to ask themselves, if they intend to develop their own software in the future. If not, it might be a good idea to establish a partnership now. This will free up resources, which will allow you to build or improve other core competencies, that are more beneficial to your focus area.
We enable the future of visual inspections. By enabling, we do not mean doing it ourselves but rather bringing companies together through relevant partnerships.
Ken Isobe Falk
– CEO, Scopito
But, choose wisely.
Good partnerships will bring immense value to your business, and bad ones could drain it. Do your research, before deciding on a partner.
- Do they have or plan to develop AI?
Make sure to get proof of functionality, as most AI software today is very early stage.
- Do they have good references?
References mean experience, and in an early-stage market, this is worth gold. If a company can sport good references, from businesses similar to yours, there is a strong likelihood that you will find value in their product too.
- Can they assist you in several areas of operation?
Choosing a partner that offers more than just data analysis, might be a good idea for you. Instead of bringing in four or five different programs, which need to be learned, integrated and maintained, you should look for a distributor that can handle all – or most of – your operations.
- Plan for the future
When You do partner up with an external company, think ahead; what can they offer, that You might need in the future?
It might seem less relevant now, but you will pad yourself on the back in two years when you don’t have to move tons of data. It can often be an advantage to look for a company that focuses on partnerships, over one that tries to do everything themselves. A partner with many contacts can also help you create new connections.
Find a couple of interesting possibilities and ask for a demo. Before making your final decision, be sure to investigate all the aspects in which the company can help you succeed.
The scope: it doesn’t have to be all or nothing.
It is entirely possible to keep some of your inspections’ analysis in-house while outsourcing others.
For example, it might make sense to choose external help, if you are busier than usual, or if You have inspection types, that could benefit from the use of artificial intelligence.
Consider how much, and when, it makes sense to outsource – it does not have to be all or nothing.
At Scopito, we have created a model which allows you to do the analysis and annotation yourself, directly in the software, or simply request Scopito analysis for a specific inspection.
Scopito analysis
Once the analysis is completed, the results will be visible in the Scopito platform, and you can share or export it, as if they were internally executed.
So, when deciding which data analysis method you want to explore, consider outsourcing. It might just be the rocket thrusting your business into the stratosphere.
If you want to know more about Scopito or our AI-capabilities, contact us or sign up for our Webinar.
