News

• Big Data Transforms Businesses From Top to Bottom

  When Opera works with a customer, "we find there is no aspect of the company that is not fundamentally changing because of data's effect on its productivity" CEO Arnab Gupta tells NTT Communications.

• Opera's Analytics Change Customer Behavior to Grow Revenue and Profit

  In The Wall Street Journal, Dennis K. Berman details Opera's success in growing Schwan Food Co.'s revenues and profits by using advanced analytics to create and deliver a curriculum of individualized recommendations aimed at changing customer behavior over time.

• What Do Missile Guidance, Genetics, and Neural Networks Have in Common?

  Olivia Solon of Wired recently spoke with Opera's Global Head of R&D, Jacob Spoelstra, about the surprising scientific techniques Opera uses to solve Big Data problems.

• Man Plus Machine Makes People Extraordinary

  Opera Solutions CEO, Arnab Gupta, tells O'Reilly Radar's Online Managing Editor, Mac Slocum, that the complementary relationship between human and machine creates a new class of opportunities because machine intelligence allows people to become extraordinary.

• Calling for a New Paradigm: Machines Plus Humans

  At this year's O'Reilly Radar Strata Conference "Making Data Work," Opera Solutions CEO Arnab Gupta's keynote address explored the powerful combination of man plus machine in chess, medicine, and business. To see the full keynote, click here.

• And the Winner is...

  The fourth annual Opera Open, an internal innovation competition in which teams take Opera's existing capabilities in new and potentially marketable directions, has awarded more than $100K in prizes. Previous winning ideas have led to new products and solutions in a number of areas.

• The "Woz" Wows Opera

  Sitting down with Operaites as part of Opera's Distinguished Lecture Series, Steve Wozniak shared his insights and experience with the Opera Solutions community. Click here to read more.

• Machine Intelligence Meets Human Insight in the Financial Times

  Opera's Executive Director and Lead — Europe, Ray Eitel-Porter, tells the Financial Times, "You have got to have a combination of machine intelligence and human insight to do Big Data well," because it's difficult to understand what the science is telling you without human interpretation.

• Survey Says: Potential for Predictive Analytics High

  A recent survey co-sponsored by Opera details the opportunities and challenges of predictive analytics in the Cloud, and finds that "early adopters are positioning themselves to take increasing advantage" of the competitive gap between them and slower adopters.

• Governments Closing in on Social Media

  Scott Weber, a Leader of Opera's Government Services practice, tells the Wall Street Journal that governments are following the private sector's lead and looking at social media to make better use of data.

• The Opera Open... Opens!

  It's here: Opera's annual innovation competition, the Opera Open, has begun. "The ideas generated in the Opera Open," says Opera's CEO, Arnab Gupta, "have a track record of turning into real business opportunities." Click to read more, and follow the action on Twitter at #OperaOpen.

• CFO Rob Bothe Joins NJTC Board of Directors

  Opera CFO Rob Bothe has been named to the New Jersey Technology Council's Board of Directors. "I look forward to helping NJTC continue to make a positive difference for other tech firms in the state," he says.

• Nigel Issa Underscores Need for Supply Chain Visibility

  In the September/October issue of Supply Chain Europe Magazine, Opera's European Supply Chain head Nigel Issa outlines the importance of turning supply chain data into predictive, actionable information.

• Opera Joins Google in the Cloud

  Opera is now part of Google's Cloud Transformation Program. ReadWriteWeb's David Strom explains how Opera and other premier companies will use Google's Cloud services to offer specialized, advanced analytics solutions for enterprise customers.

• $84MM Buys Lots of Attention for Opera "Statistician Geeks" at ProcureCon

  Opera is "a company of statistician geeks who really know what they're up to," says Spend Matters' Jason Busch, reporting from ProcureCon.

• Google Taps Opera to be a Cloud Transformation Program Partner

  We've been asked to be one of the initial partners in Google's new Cloud Transformation Program. We'll be using Google's Infrastructure-as-a-Service offerings to provide organizations with advanced analytics solutions that transform information flow into increased profitability.

• Take the Opera-sponsored Predictive Analytics in the Cloud Survey Today.

  The SmartData Collective, an online community dealing with business intelligence and data management, is conducting an important survey about predictive analytics in the Cloud. The survey will play a critical part in their overall research (co-sponsored by Opera) into the emerging convergence of the Cloud, advanced analytics, and the resulting impact on today's businesses.

• Opera CEO Defines Real Value in Data

  The current hot topics about data are its size and explosive growth. But in an interview with CNET's Dave Rosenberg, Opera CEO and Founder Arnab Gupta says the real value lies in being able to interpret the data and turn it into results.

• Enterprise-Focused Opera Attracts Double Dollars

  TheStreet's Olivia Oran detailed how enterprise-focused companies, which were once thought "unsexy," have caught venture investors' attention. "Opera Solutions saw so much interest in its company," she wrote, "that it was able to raise $84 million in its first funding round earlier this month," more than double what was originally sought.

• Panning for Insight in Big Data's Stream

  As the world of Big Data continues to evolve, so will the methods to extract insight from it. "The new world of Big Data creates a torrential flow of data, and it's constantly growing," said Opera founder Arnab Gupta in an interview with Digiday's Carla Rover. "Companies no longer have the luxury of data mining a static pool of data; they need to find ways to mine the flow of data as it streams past."

• Ultimately, It's the Little Things That Count

  "Opera's core value lies in turning Big Data into Small Data — that is, using advanced machine intelligence to extract valuable signals and patterns from massive data flows," said Opera CEO, Arnab Gupta. In an Enterprise Apps Today story, Vangie Beal explained further that Opera finds actionable insight through Vektor™, Opera's Big Data analytics and signals processing platform that generates specific business process recommendations.

• What's Missing from This Picture?

  A new CBS television show, "Person of Interest," depicts Big Data as the ultimate crime fighter. Gawker's science fiction blog, io9, asked Opera founder Arnab Gupta, if the show is fact, fiction, or a bit of both.

• Wall Street Journal Breaks News of Opera's $84 Million Funding

  The Wall Street Journal's Dennis K. Berman was the first to announce Opera's $84MM first-ever investment round. Describing Opera as a builder of "big-data computer systems that can suck in billions of pieces of data at once." he described how Opera "then analyzes that data to pull out 'signals' or insights about how consumers, markets and systems are behaving."

• Opera Solutions Turns Big Data into Small Data — and $84MM

  In a TechCrunch article, Robin Wauters explained why investors were interested in Opera with a quote from Opera CEO Arnab Gupta: "Opera's core value lies in turning Big Data into Small Data — that is, using advanced machine intelligence to extract valuable signals and patterns from massive data flows."

• Unknown No Longer — Opera's $84MM Big Data Funding

  "When I profiled Opera in May, I called it the Big Data expert you've never heard of. It looks like that's about to change," wrote GigaOM's Derrick Harris in announcing Opera's $84MM funding. Although Big Data has become a hot topic, Harris noted that unlike other Big Data companies, "Opera takes the guesswork out of the process," since customers do not have to acquire analytics expertise or invest in expensive infrastructure.

• Opera Secures $84 Million in Growth Capital

  A group of private equity investment firms led by Silver Lake Sumeru have made an $84 million minority investment in Opera — one of the largest ever in a private company in the Big Data predictive analytics space.

• Arnab Gupta hails unbeatable "man plus machine" combination

  In an interview with Julie Steele of O'Reilly Radar, Opera's CEO Arnab Gupta explains how "the possibilities are limitless" when human insight combines with machine learning.

• GigaOM cites Opera's "compelling" service for customers

  "Not content with providing generic analysis to customers," writes Derrick Harris, "Opera focuses on each customer's specific needs" to develop unique analytics programs.

• Issa Discusses Supply Chain Risk Management in Financier Worldwide

  Nigel Issa, who leads Opera's European Supply Chain Solutions group, was featured in Financier Worldwide's May 2011 issue speaking on supply chain risk management. In a joint discussion with Gary S. Lynch of Marsh Risk Consulting, Issa detailed supply chain concerns facing an evolving, globalized economy.

• Big Data Analysis Can Thwart Security Threats

  Michael Chertoff, former Secretary of the United States Department of Homeland Security and co-founder of security consulting firm the Chertoff Group, a strategic advisor to Opera, told business leaders at New York's 21 Club that intelligence agencies' historical bias in favor of the information they either steal or intercept has been trumped by Big Data. "Where security is headed in the 21st century," he said, "it's about being smart, collecting information, assimilating the information and, most importantly, using the information."
  —New York Times

• Chertoff: 'Rules and Regulations' Complicate Anti-Cybercrime Efforts

  The ability to analyze "massive amounts of data to find patterns and make predictions ... (is) crucial to cyber security and security in general," according to Michael Chertoff, former Secretary of the United States Department of Homeland Security and co-founder of security consulting firm the Chertoff Group, a strategic advisor to Opera. He also called for "a fresh look" at laws that restrict domestic activities of intelligence agencies like the CIA. He made his remarks before a group of business leaders at New York's 21 Club as part of Opera's ongoing Big Data Discourses series.

• HPCC Systems promises Big Data as a Service

  "Being able to crunch terabytes of data is great, but having someone else do it for you is even better," according to a recent article on cloud service for big data processing. Opera's "managed analytics offering" was cited as an option for those seeking better ways to process and manage their data.
  —GigaOM

• Why The U.S. Needs A Strategy For Fighting Cyberwars

  As part of Opera's ongoing Big Data Discourses series, former Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, co-founder of security consulting firm the Chertoff Group, a strategic advisor to Opera, called for a new cyber-doctrine to thwart terrorist and other threats. Speaking before business leaders at New York's 21 Club, he said such a doctrine requires a fresh look at the way U.S. government agencies collect, mine and analyze information.
  —Business Insider

• Opera has "a compelling story to tell" says GigaOM's Derrick Harris

  Although Big Data is becoming a well-known term in tech circles, GigaOM's Derrick Harris took the time to sit down and discuss Opera Solutions, and see why we've been flying under the radar. What Harris quickly realized is that Opera has a compelling story and that we're "two steps ahead" with our unique business model.

• Opera analysis points to potential savings opportunities for local UK councils

  For the official press release from the UK Department for Communities and Local Government, click below

• UK Government Endorsement

  Governments everywhere at every level are facing severe budget shortfalls. In a recent speech, Eric Pickles, a Member of the British Parliament and the UK Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, cited procurement practices in general, and Opera's ability to optimize them in particular, as a means to realize millions in savings.

• Netflix Prize Keeps on Paying

  In an article in IT Business Edge, Opera CEO Arnab Gupta attributes "a $10 million payoff internally from what we've learned" from Opera's participation in the Netflix Competition. Opera continues to use the improved modeling and analysis techniques it created for the contest with other clients.

• CEO Arnab Gupta on Fox News

  On February 9th, 2011, Opera CEO Arnab Gupta was interviewed on FoxNews.com by Fox Business reporter Tracy Byrnes on visibility in the financial markets. Focusing initially on how Opera is now bringing increased transparency to Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities, the in-depth interview also touched on the desirability of turning the "black box" into a "glass box" - a move that will benefit exchanges, companies, and investors.

• Can Analytics Replace Intuition?

  That was the question posed to Ray Eitel-Porter, head of Opera's European operations, in a recent gathering hosted by The Forum, a London-based consultancy. Ray's answer?

• Opera Named Private Company of the Year by the New Jersey Technology Council

  Award recognizes Opera's achievements in applying advanced analytics to create profit and advantage for clients

• Opera CEO Recognized for Entrepreneurial Achievement

  Opera's CEO, Arnab Gupta, named a finalist in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2010 New Jersey program

• ACI Worldwide Announces Expanded Fraud Analytics Capabilities Powered by Opera Solutions

  Alliance Enables Broader Access to Analytics Resources for Fraud Prevention and Detection