Setting New Data Analysis Standards with In Memory Computing
Last week GFT showcased a new customer scoring app, based on SAP HANA, at CeBIT as part of the SAP HANA Partner development competition.
As we know, the regulatory authorities are imposing an increasing number of requirements on banks, which is resulting in a meteoric rise in data volumes. This is a totally new scale of challenge for many financial institutions. This combined with the need for real time analytics to minimise exposure and risk is where In Memory computing (IMC) will truly come into the fore. Companies need to appreciate IMC as a quantum leap in their computing strategy, not just as an incremental improvement. Dramatically faster data access can profoundly change the nature and impact of certain types of applications (e.g., batch, reporting, analytics).

Our app enables banks to carry out risk management based on the scoring of credit contracts. It means the huge volumes of data can be analysed and evaluated in real time. Now, micro-economic changes in customer accounts can be identified, which may have an effect on the bank’s value at risk. The app has already been tested by interested GFT clients. The advantage of using SAP HANA is its focus on speed (i.e. IMC). It allows banks rapid access to data and fast processing, which means that financial institutions can make quicker, more accurate decisions. In one proof-of-concept project, some processes were reduced from 40 minutes to 2-3 seconds.
Although In Memory computing is nothing new the ease in which it is now possible to link questions such as ‘How is the creditworthiness of new business developing?’ and ‘How high is the planned capital requirement for a portfolio? Such ability will drive innovation and enable organisations to make decisions based on predictive data versus a gut feeling. Millions of events can now be scanned within 10ths of millisecond to find correlations and patterns pointing at emerging opportunities and threats “as things happen.” The possibility of concurrently running transactional and analytical applications against the same dataset opens unexplored possibilities for business innovation. Such assessments are carried out by analysing underlying data in detail – precisely where solutions like SAP HANA come into their own. The approach is nearly 100 times faster than conventional batch processes, making it possible for specialist departments to examine how to adjust key credit rating determinants, despite constantly changing scenarios.
As our COO, Marika Lulay, said at CeBIT last week, this level of underlying technology and individually customised in-memory computing makes it possible to think through topics that were previously completely impossible to capture. It can make financial service providers future-ready and ease the regulation burden.
If you want to try out this app, or hear about any of our other innovative ideas as we are a technology agnostic company, let us know.