HSE LATNA Laboratory Partners with KPMG
HSE Laboratory of Algorithms and Technologies for Network Analysis (LATNA) has entered into a collaboration agreement with KPMB, one of the biggest international companies that provides consulting and audit services. The collaboration implies cooperative work on projects for the Russian and international markets, which require mastery in intellectual data analysis, computer-aided instruction and solution for complex optimization tasks.
At present the majority of manufacturing companies, retailers and pure financial companies, such as banks, have integrative control systems based on databases. The latter are filled with information both manually and automatically by means of directing information streams from digital gadgets, different kinds of sensors, cameras, microphones, and events that occur as a result of human or equipment activity. Today companies have much more information that they used to 10-15 years ago. It is a common saying that we are living in the Big Data age. This gigantic volume of information implies huge potential for business decision making. For example, on the basis of historic data it is possible to forecast the market, disclose trends, and form a general portrait of a buyer of certain goods. Furthermore, it becomes possible to evaluate the condition of some equipment and forecast when it will fail, based on this equipment data. It allows us to figure out a more accurate strategy of its maintenance. Besides, we can automatically detect frauds, irrational resources exploitation and losses as well as cut down expenses and much more.
However, in most cases information is received and stored in a semi-structured or unstructured way. Knowledge and key facts must be extracted from this semi-structured data array. For this purpose, we need nontrivial mathematical data analysis tools, machine learning algorithms, complex heuristic algorithms of discrete and continuous optimization.
These are the algorithms the Laboratory is working on; that is what students at the HSE Informatics Mathematics and Computer Sciences Faculty are taught since the laboratory closely collaborates with this faculty.
Partnership with KPMG, a big well-known international company, a leader on the consulting market, greatly expands the opportunities to reach potential customers. It allows the laboratory to apply its expertise and algorithms while making the real tasks of customers. In its turn, KPMG gets stronger with HSE expertise, technologies and influence in the academic community. Thus, this partnership might prove highly fruitful for both parties.