Applied Predictive Technologies

Applied Predictive Technologies
Private Ownership
Industry Software as a service
Founded 1999 [1]
Founder

Jim Manzi, Chairman[2]
Anthony Bruce, CEO[2]

Scott Setrakian, Managing Director[2]
Headquarters Arlington, Virginia, United States[1]
Key people

Patrick O'Reilly, President & COO[2]

Andrew Fedorchek, CTO[2]
Number of employees
 200
Website www.predictivetechnologies.com

Applied Predictive Technologies (APT) is a software company that provides business analytics software, designed to help large, consumer-facing businesses "reduce the risk of any new initiative by systematically testing the idea with a subset of stores, customers, or employees."[3] APT argues that using systematic testing enables companies to measure the true incremental impact of any new initiative.[3] Its "core value proposition is helping clients innovate more effectively through trial and error."[4]

History

APT was founded in 1999 by business consulting executives Jim Manzi (Oliver Wyman), Anthony Bruce (McKinsey & Company), and Scott Setrakian (Oliver Wyman).[5] Of founding APT, Manzi explained to The Washington Post that "a lot of the work I was doing as a consultant was very repetitive. I realized how much of it could be put into a software model.”[6] With venture capital from Devon Partners, it took Manzi and Bruce less than a year to develop and launch APT’s software tool. In 2006, the firm was backed by Accel-KKR, a private equity firm.[7] In 2013, Goldman Sachs invested $100 million in APT.[8]

Organization

APT is headquartered in Arlington, Virginia and has regional offices in San Francisco, London, Tokyo, and Taipei.[9] APT employs more than 200 people across its five offices.

Recruiting

APT trends towards recruiting undergraduate students directly out of college, rather than targeting MBAs. "We found that hiring straight out of undergrad, we capture the capabilities that these top students have right as they're entering the workplace. It is an opportunity for us to develop them within our own walls,"[10] says Cathy Baker, SVP of marketing and administration.

APT's campus recruiting efforts focus in on a small number of target schools, so as to be able to identify candidates early on and develop a relationship with them over the course of their college career.[10] Often, this relationship can begin as early as the students’ sophomore or junior year since APT recruits on campus for their summer interns. [11] .[12] Also like campus hires, lateral candidates must perform well on their analytical/quantitative skills during the interviews. The interview process can be extensive and may include three rounds totaling about eight to ten interviews.[13]

Software

APT's software takes a statistically rigorous test and learn approach to business analytics, in which proposed changes are tried out on a small scale and then analyzed before being implemented everywhere. APT's approach is follows a larger business trend, evidence-based management, in which the scientific method is applied to business decision making. APT's software automates the cycle described by the Harvard Business Review:[14]

APT's software has been noted for its emphasis on ease of use in test design and analysis[14] and also for its ability to present both a high-level summary of a test and deep analysis of the specific attributes that affect performance in the test.[15] APT differentiates itself from competitors by offering a unique approach, emphasizing conducting tests to gather data instead of simply simulating it.

In February 2011, APT was awarded a patent that protects its core analytic technology for designing an in-market test and on matching test stores to control stores.[16]

Products

APT sells a number of products, each focused on a particular area of analysis. Test and Learn for Sites is APT's flagship product. APT provides its products as web applications using the software as a service model: companies connect to APT's web servers using login information provided by APT, the computations are run on the servers, and options and results are displayed in the user's web browser.[5] APT's current products include:

Clients

Recently named one of the top 10 tech companies to watch in 2012 by American Banker,[18] APT's clients span a wide range of industries and include Abercrombie & Fitch, Wendy's, Starbucks, Subway, Kraft Foods, Royal Bank of Canada, and more than 40 of the Fortune 500.[19] APT's Test and Learn for Sites software has been used for Wawa's tests on adding personnel,[15] IHG's tests on capital upgrades and promotional offers,[20] and Royal Bank of Canada's in-market tests on distribution operations strategies.[21] APT has also done work with Google in analyzing the impact of online advertising on brick and mortar stores.[22]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Applied Predictive Technologies, Inc.: Private Company Information". BusinessWeek. Retrieved 18 September 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "APT Management". Archived from the original on 16 October 2009. Retrieved 18 September 2009.
  3. 1 2 "Financial Times". Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  4. ↑ "The Washington Post: Helping Retailers See If Their Promotions Are Hits or Misses" (PDF). Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  5. 1 2 Hayes, Heather B. (May 2006). "2006 Fantastic 50: Applied Predictive Technologies". Archived from the original on 22 December 2009. Retrieved 18 September 2009.
  6. ↑ McCarthy, Ellen. "Applied Predictive Technologies Makes Consulting Automatic." The Washington Post 20 August 2001. E5. Print.
  7. ↑ "Accel-KKR Portfolio". Retrieved 18 September 2009.
  8. ↑ http://www.computing.co.uk/ctg/news/2277726/what-does-goldman-sachs-usd100m-investment-in-apt-mean-for-big-data-analytics
  9. ↑ "Bloomberg Business Week: Applied Predictive Technologies". Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  10. 1 2 Stillman, Jessica (February 2012). "What It Takes to Hire Top Ivy League Talen". Inc.
  11. ↑ "Campus Recruiting". Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  12. ↑ Garnick, Darren (16 November 2011). "Recruiting wars over Ivy Leaguers heat up". The Boston Herald. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  13. ↑ "APT Interviews". Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  14. 1 2 Davenport, Thomas H. (February 2009). "How to Design Smart Business Experiments". Harvard Business Review.
  15. 1 2 Fleenor, D. Gail (June 2009). "These Tests Are Positive". STORES Magazine. Archived from the original on 12 October 2009. Retrieved 18 September 2009.
  16. ↑ "United States Patent No. 7,895,072". 22 February 2011. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
  17. ↑ "APT Products". Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  18. ↑ "Top 10 Tech Companies to Watch in 2012". Retrieved 7 December 2011.
  19. ↑ "APT Clients". Retrieved 18 September 2009.
  20. ↑ "IHG Selects APT's Test & Learn Management System". 17 September 2009. Retrieved 18 September 2009.
  21. ↑ "APT's Test & Learn Management System Selected by RBC to Conduct In-Market Tests". 5 October 2009. Retrieved 12 October 2009.
  22. ↑ "POS to O2S for ROI... The Evolution of Measurable Media Investments". Google Retail Advertising Blog. 24 August 2009. Archived from the original on 25 September 2009. Retrieved 18 September 2009.

External links

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