Import.io: Making Web Data Accessible and Actionable

An Intellyx Brain Candy Brief

Data is now one of the primary drivers of not only competitive value, but also competitive intelligence, market insights, and other critical business operations. But there’s a problem. Much of the data that an organization may require for these purposes is data that they cannot directly access because it is on the web — often in unstructured and inaccessible forms. Imagine, for instance, a hedge fund that needs to monitor store opening and closings within a given retail sector. Or a company who wants to track price fluctuations of its products in various markets. This data is essential to competitive and business-critical functions, yet it is difficult to get.

Import.io, which calls itself a web data integration firm, has created a platform that makes this data both accessible and actionable. Traditionally, organizations who sought this type of web data could only get it by building an internal development capability that attempted to harvest it, but then also had to invest significant resources in maintaining this notoriously fragile data infrastructure. The company’s solution simplifies this process by enabling business users to merely identify websites which have data they need. The platform then automatically parses the data and allows users to establish recurring feeds and actions from that data.

Using a sophisticated basket of technologies under the hood, the company maintains an extensive library of known URLs from which it can parse data and automatically applies discovery techniques when a user requests a website that it is not already parsing. Most importantly, the company employs intelligent monitors to ensure continual quality and reliability of the web data it delivers. Its customers can then use this data for point-in-time needs, feed it into traditional Business Intelligent systems, integrate it into operational processes, or even connect it into customer-facing applications to improve the customer experience.   

Copyright ©2019 Intellyx LLC. Intellyx advises companies on their digital transformation initiatives, and helps vendors communicate their agility stories. At the time of this writing, none of the organizations mentioned in this article are Intellyx customers. To be considered for a Brain Candy article, email us at pr@intellyx.com.