Founded in 2007, Belgian company TIMi has established itself as a pioneer in automated machine learning and the massive exploitation of data (Big Data). Its CEO, Frank Vanden Berghen, talks about the company’s development, its innovations in data flow automation and its international ambitions.
What were your objectives when you set up TIMi?
TIMI was set up in 2007 to enable the exploitation of databases on the scale of a hundred billion lines and to produce predictive models. We were the first in the world to develop automated machine learning engines (Auto-ML). However, model creation remains a niche activity, and 95% of existing companies have no need for it.
So where are you focusing your efforts?
TIMi is now focusing its efforts on data flow automation solutions for business processes. This is because we have found that the best people to automate a business process are those who understand all the ins and outs of those processes and live those processes on a day-to-day basis. This idea is often referred to as the ‘Analytical Culture’. This automation work, which now concerns all organisations, often remains limited because of certain difficulties, starting with the code. Indeed, people ‘in the business’ often have no affinity with code. As our software works without code, we overcome this difficulty. TIMi also offers the ability to handle an almost infinite amount of data on a minimal infrastructure (a laptop, a server), access to all possible algorithms (open source or proprietary), and a large number of connectors. Thanks to innovative compression algorithms, for example, TIMi can handle a database volume of 5 TB using just 100 GB of disk space (the size of the data is typically divided by 50 compared with a traditional database).
What type of professional is your solution aimed at?
We are targeting Business Analysts, who are found particularly in corporate finance departments. We are currently working with 200 Deloitte tax specialists to optimise the accounts of the firm’s clients. Production engineers, faced with recurring breakdowns in their machines, are also looking for our solutions to analyse the causes of breakdowns and carry out predictive maintenance. Marketing specialists, who use data on customer behaviour to refine their sales strategies and increase their conversion rate, are also among our customers.
The aim of TIMi, a horizontal solution, is to become as universal as Excel. Excel is not tied to a specific sector, but is used in all company departments. As a result, we are aimed at anyone who needs to automate workflows.
What are your export ambitions?
Around 80% of our sales come from exports. We have branches in Latin America (Colombia and Peru) and are planning to extend our activities to Japan.
Sources: « L’automatisation des données, c’est l’affaire de TIMI » in the Business Inside TV programme for Forbes magazine.
