Operators will have the chance to access Xtract's data analysis services without investing up front, after the Finnish outfit announced it would be making its Social Links software available as a service.
Xtract markets its data analysis as allowing operators to use social network data to profile and target customers. A company spokesperson told Mobile Europe that Xtract wants to reflect the current economic reality for operators by giving them an easier cost of entry to the solutions – hence the hosted, on-demand availability.
An Xtract press release claimed that Social Links On-Demand will be 74 per cent faster to set up than traditional in-house implementations and offers 39 per cent faster payback time.
At the moment, most Xtract customers and triallists are using the product as a customer relationship tool to reduce churn, and target high value customers. In time Xtract hopes operators will be able to use the information it can provide to plan campaigns to individuals with a particulalry high influence among their peers, or for targeted marketing and advertising campaigns.
Xtract's friendly analyst for this release is Julien Theys at Screen Digest, and he had this to say: “Efficient analysis is key to leveraging the power of social networks and eventually monetising them through relevant content and advertising. An on-demand solution can provide access to social network intelligence that is light, flexible and financially less cumbersome than traditional software licenses. It is therefore ideally suited for operators who prefer not to invest heavily in in-house analytics and database marketing solutions and resources, especially in the current economic climate.”