Pro Learning Lab - Turning Information Into Opportunity
1. Turning Information into OpportunityThursday, June 25, 20092:00 PM EDT Presented by: Whittaker Associates, Inc. Dean Whittaker, Jami Miedema, Vidhan Rana Tech Support: Jim Bruckbauer and Mark James For audio Dial Enter Access Code
13. Creating a Target Company Profile:Old Process Old Process Client Input Target industries by 3-4 digit NAICS Minimum sales and employment Employment & Sales Growth
14. Creating a Target Company Profile: New Process New Process Focus on type of active companies New & Expanded Announcements Search for similar companies using: 5-6 Digit NAICS Keyword, articles, trade associations Event registration, membership list
15. Data Center Information Sites Data Center World exhibitor list The Data Center Journal glossary Colocation Service Provider Directory metro area Data Center Knowledge RSS feed
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17. Fee-Based Sources Harris: contains info on small, private companies OneSource: broad multiple sources of news and company information LexisNexis: news sources for events
18. Free Sources Zoom Info a quick biographical sketch based on Internet data ZipSkinny a zip code-based demographic comparison tool Google Earth a bird’s eye view of earth and beyond ZoomProspector a geographic information site selection tool
37. What Data Center Companies Need? "The data centre was formerly a US Navy communications facility designed to withstand Category 5 hurricane level winds......." - Mark Wade, director of Network Operations at TBI, Inc. on Bermuda expansion "......can rest assured, knowing that their mission-critical systems and applications are protected and available 24/7.” - Rich Lee, founder and CEO of Hosted Solutions talking about his customers "This new space enables us to accommodate the rapid colocation market growth we’ve seen in the Dallas area......." - Jeff Lowenber, VP Facilities, The Planet
55. Web 3.0 – The New Media Social Networks www.Linkedin.com www.facebook.com www.twitter.com Streaming Video www.YouTube.com Podcasting Blogs
56. Discussion and Q&A Please type your questions into the question text box on the lower right side of your screen. Dean@whittakerassociates.com Jami@whittakerassociates.com Vidhan@whittakerassociates.com 616-786-2500 www.whittakerassociates.com
57. Thank you for your participation Dean@whittakerassociates.com Jami@whittakerassociates.com Vidhan@whittakerassociates.com 616-786-2500 www.whittakerassociates.com
Notas del editor
Please let me introduce me and my co-workers. Version 1.0 From left to right… myself, Dean, Jami, and Vidhan Note: the big ears on the guy on the left along with the Howdy Duty Shirt. So, lighten up. Sit back and we will share will you some idea about using Business Intelligence in Economic Development.
Oh, yes, here’s a more recent 3.0 version of us.
How do we use Business Intelligence?WeUse information to make better decisionsWe use it to reduce risk and predict outcomeWe use it to focus our effort – “biggest bang for the buck”We use it to work smarter: Brains vs Muscle
One way we use information is to Predicting Behavior:Historical Information – have they done it before? Under what circumstances? When? What causes companies to contract, expand or relocate? What factors would help us predict this behavior?Where can we find this information?
The Short Answer is: CHANGESomething has changed…Internal changesOwnershipLeadershipOthersExternal ChangesBusiness EnvironmentRegulatory EnvironmentOthers
Please let me introduce Jami Miedema, one of our top Research Analyst at Whittaker Associates. She will share with you how she uses information resources to target companies.
The way we used to go about collecting that information is that ourclient would recommend target industries at the 3-4 digit NAICs code level and minimum sales and employment numbersWe would also determine minimum growth numbers for companiesWe were finding was that we were sifting through hundreds of companies, many of which did not fit the parameters we were looking for because they weren’t easily categorized under the traditional classification systemWe were using more muscle than brains, so to be able to work smarter and not harder, we revamped our process of creating a target company profile
Currently, we still use a collaborative approach, but we focus more on company types rather than industriesWe use New & Expanded Announcements from CONWAY DATA to find active companies and thriving niches within industriesWe look within more specific NAICs codesWe also look at press releases and keyword searches within research databases, as well as association and conference websites to see what companies are attending and exhibiting at these events
For example, four sources we used when researching the data center industry were…So once we have our information for the target company profile, we can begin our research process
One of the resources we like to use for research is Hoovers OnlineI would like to show a brief demo of the system and how we use it in our research processWhen we log-in to the database, it brings up several criteria through which we can filter companiesSo for the sake of example, we’ll say we want to create a preliminary list of companies that offer data center services, and that our Target Company Profile suggests we target companies in the U.S with greater than $25 million in sales
Now Vidhan Rana will talk a little more in-depth about the data center industry, and some of the things we’ve encountered in our research of the industry.
First and most important rule about finding information is being patient. Before you begin researching any unfamiliar industries, spend time learning what some of the keywords. Use trial and error and don’t give up easily if things don’t work. If things, don’t work – be innovative.
Thank you Jami. I am going to talk about how information can be used to guide your targeting process and how best to use business intelligence to guide your decisions. I am going to focus on the data center industry to show you a few examples of how we analyze data. The chart shown here is analysis of project announcements in the United State made by companies in the data center industry between 2003 & 2008. The source of this data is Conway Scorecard. Conway track major investments all around the world and sends its data base out to clients every month. We have been using Conway since 1993. We use an advanced analysis tool in MS Excel called Pivot table to prepare the data for this chart. We compiled all the Conway files together into one massive database and found 426 data center announcements listed since 1993. As you can see in the chart, activity in the industry has spiked dramatically in the last few years. A record number of new data center projects were launched in 2008 and continue to be launched in 2009.
This chart shows us the level of investment in the industry per year since 1993. Notice the spike in 2001, we saw massive investment in the industry during the dot-com bubble, but in the years subsequent to the bubble, investments remained low due to the oversupply of data center properties. Unlike the pervious chart you can see a slight effect of the recession on in 2008 on this chart.
The chart here shows the investment per project in the industry since 1993. You can see the same spike in 2001 like we saw in the previous chart. Here however, we see a more marked declined in per project investment in both new investments & expansions. The recession severely limited the availability of credit and thus made it difficult to undertake large projects. Improving technology such as cloud computing, smaller servers and better cooling systems has also diminished the need for large data center facilities.
The map here shows the location of all the 426 data center projects identified form the Conway database.
The maps here represent new and expansion announcements in major metros. The size of the bubble indicates the number of jobs created by that particular project. Looking more closely at specific metro areas, it is easy to notice that rather than locating in the city, data centers like to locate in the suburbs where land may be cheaper. We also find the projects that our outside the city are usually larger.In Atlanta, the four projects that are outside the metro area are the largest four projects by employment size.
Until 2001, California was a busy market for data centers. There were only a handful of project in other parts of the country.
However, when the dot-com bubble burst, no major projects were launched in CA. However, projects in other parts of the country were still happening.
Project finally picked up in 2007 with 30 new projects and 24 expansions. Notice there were only one project in OH and no announcement in KY.
In 2008, there were 57 projects and 23 expansions. In total these projects were worth over $4 billion. In contrast to 2007, we saw nine projects in OH & 7 in KY. Texas was the most active state with 14 projects total.
Bubble maps is another great way to both represent your data and analyze information. Here we see the top 20 projects by investment dollar in 2008. There were five projects in the Dallas area in the top 20. Though there were fewer projects in the Western states, two of the four largest projects were located there. All these maps were created using Microsoft MapPoint. There are a number of products you can use including Google Earth to show information on a map and gain a better understanding about your data.
Whittaker Associates recently created a list for Longview, TX a small city 2 hours East of Dallas. As we began looking at some companies active in the data center market, we quickly realized that using traditional NAICS codes for targeting was not going to cut it. So we relying more on finding active companies based on Conway Announcements and news articles. An analysis of the spread of NAICS codes across the companies in the list of 125 companies we did shows us why NAICS codes isn’t the best way to go. We found more than 40 different NAICS codes for the 25 companies. The most active sector, Other Business Support Services providers was not the NAICS codes where the major colocation providers were listed.
The map here shows the location of the top 25 fastest growing data center companies in the list we created for Longview. We found it interesting that all of the four companies in Atlanta were part of the top 25 list. This points out that data center market is still expanding rapidly in the Atlanta metro area.
Wrapping up our section on data centers, we want to take a quick look at some of the site selection criteria that are important. Here are some quotes from executives at data center companies. The first quote from an executive at TBI, Inc. is rather interesting – they used a former US Navy Communication Facility in hurricane ridden Bermuda to make sure that the building could withstand Category 5 level winds. Needs:High bandwidth networks for fast connectionCheap electricitySecuritySpaceLow risk of natural disasters (so often located inland with low flooding risks)Low risk of industrial disasters (away from power plants or industries / contamination)
Many of us who didn’t grow up being used to using internet with connect with folks have a hard time understanding what the hype about social media is all about. Here is a unique way to look at social media. Think of networking sites like twitter, Linkedin, facebook or MySpace as parties. Why do people go to parties? Meet new people, interact, have fun … networking sites are just that .. A place to get to know people. What do you do when you go to parties, you dress up, look good, try to make interesting conversation .. Listen, etc. the Same with networking sites .. Looking good = keeping your profile uptodate and interesting, What happens normally when know someone a little better? You invite them to your house right? You like to find out more about them and tell them stuff about yourself. A personal website, blog or a YouTube page is like your house. You invite others in and tell them about what you like, who you are, etc. If you are trying to sell something … If you want to share specific … flickr .. Etc.
Many must have hear about twitter on CNN or from a friend and must be wondering what it is? Well it is a great way to connect with people and find out what they are up to. Twitter allows users to say in 160 letters anything that’s on their mind. But as people start writing what they are up to, the collection of all that becomes a great source of info. A few months ago a disgruntled HP customer started twittering about his horrific customer service experience. His tweets received so much attention that HP contacted him personally and made sure his issues were resolved. If you are a ED pro, you may want to track what other people are saying about your region and try to steer the conversation. One way I have seen people use twitter is to drive traffic to their websites. A tool like tr.im is a great way to do that. I used trim a link to add a link to twitter feed, it also tracks how many clicks that particular link gets. I made a post on my twitter about out webinar yesterday and got 21 hits in a minute on the tr.im link I had for our registration page. Two of those hits were from Sweden .. I don’t know anyone there. You may ask who is actually using twitter to do marketing – OKBoomerang. Find people who are talking about Oklahoma, add them to your network. Share info with them about why OK is cool & walla!
LinkedIn, like the name suggests is a way to Link with people. It has become the application of choice for many professional to conduct their networking online. It allows you to find people, those you know and those you would like to know. By building a profile, resume & bio on LinkedIn, you can let others know about your professional life. Build business connections – Join groups, recommend others, etc.. Find Jobs …
WALT, now WALTer was created back in 2001 as a way to 1) track the results of our predictive research, 2) assist our clients in follow-up with prospective companies, and 3) provide our clients with a follow-up tool that could use collaboratively with different organizations.
WALTer functions much like a standard Client Relationship Manager, but it also gives the user the ability to see up-to-date information about the company as the user does the follow-up work.There’s also a built in mapping feature.
WALT, now WALTer was created back in 2001 as a way to 1) track the results of our predictive research, 2) assist our clients in follow-up with prospective companies, and 3) provide our clients with a follow-up tool that could use collaboratively with different organizations.
WALTer functions much like a standard Client Relationship Manager, but it also gives the user the ability to see up-to-date information about the company as the user does the follow-up work.There’s also a built in mapping feature.
Up Coming Pro Learning Lab Events:The Role of Social Media in Economic DevelopmentJuly 15th @ 2 PM EST