vyzVoice - "See your data talk to you "

Founded in Luxembourg, vyzVoice developed from a small company, initially focused on gathering commercial building data. However, it quickly became clear that there was a much greater need for data management.

With the proliferation of IoT and big data, enormous amounts of data were being generated but companies did not know how to manage this data and put it to use. At the same time, advances in connectivity and security were increasing possibilities for collecting valuable data, yet companies were missing opportunities to use their own data to gain insights for improving operations and better serving their customers.

vyzVoice was created in 2014 with the mission of creating a relationship between stakeholders and their data. The company's purpose is to remove the barriers to digital transformation and to simplify the process for companies to gain data-driven insights for all users, at all levels of their business, to produce results. To this end, the cloud-based platform, Chorus, was launched in January 2016.

Chorus was developed to securely acquire real-time data from all sources regardless of their technology or software protocols. With powerful analytic capabilities, the platform delivers a clear dashboard visualization of real time data to end users.

vyzVoice works closely with its customers to define business processes and user roles so that the analytics provided are focused on user needs. Dashboards are easily customized based on each user's needs and their key performance indicators. It is this clear, customized, visualization that creates the relationship between users and their data and enables data-driven decisions, focused on business goals.

The vyzVoice solutions, all based on the Chorus platform, are focused on 4 major areas - Data Center Infrastructure Management, Industrial Asset Management, Sustainability Optimization & Reporting and Comfort & Wellbeing.

Interview with Robert Spicer, Chief Executive Officer

What projects are you currently working on?

We are currently working on deploying a full infrastructure management solution for a major data center operator in Germany. The vyzVoice Datacenter Infrastructure Management (DCIM) solution is being integrated into existing infrastructure and data sources at all the operators sites and will provide access to analytics for energy management, capacity management and planning, as well as a full operational overview. In addition to monitoring all aspects of the infrastructure, the Chorus platform allows for customized notification procedures to alert users to problems and activates automatic escalation procedures to resolve issues without any delays or additional resources. The result is improved operational efficiency, through energy and capacity management and compliance with Service Level Agreements for the datacenter customers by guaranteeing maximum uptime. With insights into their own customer data, the operator is developing new, innovative services for their own customers. This has led to the creation of new revenue streams, so the solution has really had an impact on all aspects of their business.

What successes are you particularly proud of?

The development of the Chorus platform was a result of the combined effort of vyzVoice's Luxembourg-based team that includes 18 different nationalities. It was challenging to develop a platform that could be flexible, powerful and easily deployed while ensuring the highest standards of data privacy and security. The success in meeting the stringent requirements of the Deutsche Telekom AG security test was a great validation of the efforts deployed by the company. Last year, we supported Microsoft Luxembourg in their digital transformation for creating an ideal workspace for employees and reducing the environmental impact of their processes. To achieve this goal, the existing building facilities management systems and office monitoring devices were connected to the Chorus platform. With deployment of the vyzVoice solutions, data analytics were created for indicators including room temperature, indoor air quality, and room occupancy. With notifications flows and dashboards configured based on user profiles from facility managers to HR managers and employees, data-driven decisions can now be made to optimize the working environment. Analytics on energy consumption, water usage and waste production are also used to calculate the carbon footprint of the company. Full screen dashboards were installed in open spaces so that Microsoft employees and visitors could view data in real time and see the impact of their actions on that data. It has been great to see that the solution has not only improved the management of the office space but has also empowered employees to be directly engaged in improving their own wellbeing at work. vyzVoice continues to work with Microsoft Luxembourg on a second phase and is in contact with other Microsoft offices in Europe who are interested in implementing similar solutions in their offices.

What are the biggest challenges your sector is facing?

The lack of standardization in the IoT market is an on-going concern for us. The rapid proliferation of IoT devices, each with its own protocol, has made investment decisions difficult and confusing for companies. By developing a platform that is device agnostic, vyzVoice has worked to create a solution for digital transformation that removes some of these difficulties. By integrating with existing infrastructure, deployment of our solutions does not require additional capital investment and also accommodates new techology choices in the future. The increasingly strict security and privacy regulations are a major concern for all our customers. For vyzVoice, data privacy and security have been at the heart of the company from the start and a core component in the development of the Chorus platform. vyzVoice considers itself a reference in terms of European regulation about privacy and is proud to have passed the DTAG security test, a stringent security requirement for providing services to Deutsche Telekom companies.

If you could change one thing about your sector what would it be? How could the Chamber of Commerce support you ?

We would love to see an increase in the variety of IoT devices - that they become commodities - but accompanied by a move towards greater compatibility between devices and standardization of protocols. This would bring a real move towards the democratization of data where all users can integrate their own data into decision-making processes.

Although there has been great progress in digital transformation, the topic remains difficult for many companies. Lack of technological know-how, rapidly changing technology, concern about wrong investment decisions, confusing messages - these are all factors that can paralyze companies in their efforts to move forward. The Chamber of Commerce's continued support in providing opportunities for education, discussion and addressing these issues, in an accessible environment, can really help overcome some of these difficulties and help these companies to make progress in using digital transformation to develop their businesses. Recently, vyzVoice was delighted to welcome participants from the Chamber of Commerce for tour of its stand at Hannover Messe. It was a great opportunity to demonstrate the company's "Made in Luxembourg" solutions and share expertise with other local companies.

The name vyzVoice is a concatenation of "visualize" and "analyze" data, and denotes giving the data a voice. The company name and logo are sustained by the tagline "see your data talk to you" which reinforces the notion that all data has a voice, and that vyzVoice will give the data the platform upon which the data may speak-out in meaningful ways to any user.

Photos: Pierre Guersing