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Are you an SME based in the Midlands? Want to turn your data into business growth? -
Aston University is offering tailored solutions to help small or medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) grow. Our project is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to bring you artificial intelligence (AI) expertise and business efficiency at no cost to you.
Data is at the heart of every company. From logistics, medical technologies, construction and manufacturing to marketing, research, education and design, we can help you make better sense of your data and improve business efficiency.
Using some of the most advanced algorithms in the world and the latest academic thinking, our team of experts can help you turn your data and analytics into new products, new job opportunities, business growth and better, more efficient ways of working.
If you are a Midlands-based SME that wants to grow your business and has big plans for the future, talk to us today.
Artificial Intelligence … Real Results
Our experts at Aston University are at the forefront of thinking in the field of AI and technology. We are constantly driving new research to expand the horizons of what these technologies can do. We are already working with companies across a wide range of sectors to find practical, efficient solutions to their problems.
Here are just some of the ways your company can benefit from expert support from our project:
Automating and scaling your business processes
Does your company have time-consuming, repetitive tasks that a computer could complete for you in a fraction of the time?
Automation can replace having to manually go through thousands of records to look for emerging patterns or start from scratch every time you need to calculate your stock requirements, or check all your data to make sure your company is meeting regulatory requirements. If you have ever wondered if a computer could do all this for you, the answer is ‘yes’.
Our experts can create flexible algorithms to automate these efficient processes for you, allowing you time to focus on the more interesting challenges that will really help business growth.
Automating these processes makes them more intelligent and intuitive – and much, much faster. By detecting trends in your data, our algorithms can make predictions with a high degree of accuracy so you can confidently plan your company growth and streamline processes.
And the real beauty of automation is scale – huge quantities of highly complex information can be extracted and understood very quickly. Automated solutions can be successfully rolled out across your company, as what works in one scenario can be scaled up or down to work in every scenario.
Providing better, more efficient solutions
What does ‘better’ look like in your SME? Is it reducing your costs, minimising waste, improving efficiency or streamlining processes?
Whatever you want to achieve, we can help you make it a reality with our free support. First, we will work with you to understand your company’s objectives and the relationships between them – which ones are set in stone, which can be more flexible, and which depend on each other. Then our algorithms can deliver a set of efficient, optimised solutions that meet your company’s needs.
Decision-making becomes easy as you will be able to see everything, from stock levels to how your customers will respond, or how complex systems will behave.
You will benefit from smarter ways of working which make the most of your resources. With less waste, lower costs, optimised solutions and more efficient processes, you will be able to channel your energy into business growth.
Gaining new insights and a deeper understanding
Do you feel overwhelmed by how many spreadsheets, charts and graphs your business generates?
Your business runs on data. Every transaction, every order, every customer interaction creates more data. So much data, in fact, that it can be hard to separate what’s important from what is background noise.
How much better would it be to have a more efficient, interactive way of unlocking the potential of your data? A way to see at a glance what you need to know, whenever you need it?
At Aston University, we are known for creating and utilising some of the best visual analytics algorithms in the world. Using machine learning, we can help you take a more intuitive look at your data and how to use it.
With our support, you will be able to see your data from a fresh angle, filtering out the noise and generating less waste so you can focus on the insights it is bringing you. This is done in a way that makes understanding and interacting with complex information more efficient and meaningful to you.
And with a wealth of efficient solutions available to your company, it’s time to think beyond data.
Client Feedback
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“The support from Dr Victoria Lush, data scientist and research fellow at Aston University has enabled me to make crucial changes, consider different uses and ensure that I’m able to bring the new tool to market much quicker than would otherwise have been possible.”
Gez McGuire, MCG Digital Media, Birmingham
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“The collaboration was a positive experience and the TBD team are effortless to work with. It was a great partnership that added value across all areas of the business. I was very impressed with the academic rigour behind the research and how it was applied to real world scenarios. The team is clearly on the cutting edge of scientific research and know exactly how to apply knowledge effectively to solve business challenges.”
Oliver James Metherall, Founder at Oliver James - Window Cleaner
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“Think Beyond Data’s work has kick-started our machine learning and vision project, which until that point had been struggling. The project had previously demonstrated the possibility of using computer vision in a museum context, but the software developers on the project lacked the knowledge and experience to confidently move forward in the right direction."
Joe Collins, Head of Systems and Performance at Black Radley
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“The Think Beyond Data team saved us at least a year of time and effort understanding the technology and the tooling. Their greater experience in the field pointed to additional business models and licensing arrangements which we had missed or misunderstood. This clearer comprehension of the business proposition has allowed us to seek opportunities outside the museums and heritage sector.”
Joe Collins, Head of Systems and Performance at Black Radley
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“We had a very specific blocker that we were struggling to understand and overcome. The input from the Think Beyond Data team completely resolved the blocker and provided a road map for future development. We couldn't have asked for a better result, and it has been a privilege to work with such a talented group of people.”
Joe Collins, Head of Systems and Performance at Black Radley
How we can support you
From the relatively simple to the highly complex, a wide range of business problems can be represented in computing terms. Our experts will work with you to understand your company’s objectives, then our algorithms can get to work finding optimised solutions that meet your needs and improve business efficiency.
Everything starts with the right model
Our expertise in using some of the most advanced algorithms in the world can improve business efficiency and save costs. We can do this by creating the right model for you.
Modelling allows us to make sense of your spreadsheets, graphs and records and turn them into something our algorithms can work with – essentially capturing, formalising and streamlining your business processes.
The right model will transform the way you use your data and technology, making accessing it more efficient and meaningful. Imagine a visual representation of your data, allowing you to interact with it, see it from different angles and gain a deeper understanding of what the information is telling you.
We are already working across many different industries to help them think beyond data, deliver tangible results and efficient processes. So, the outcome could be virtual product prototypes that respond in real time as you modify your designs. You can walk around architect’s blueprints to get a feel for the space. Charts allow you to see at a glance if a single reading is outside the normal range.
Expertise at no cost to your company
The project is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), allowing you to take advantage of our world-class expertise at no cost to you.
First, we need to get to know you, so we start with a one- or two-day fact-finding session with a member of our team. Together we will talk about the support you need, your ambitions and priorities followed by our recommendations on how to grow your business and streamline processes.
Then we will use the latest research in areas like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, data visualisation, optimisation and analytics to help you work with your data in a way you never thought possible.
That may be all you need, or you may need a longer-term, more tailored package of support. We can create bespoke efficient solutions where you will have the input of one of our world-class team of academics over three to six months to help your company growth.
Is my company eligible for support?
If your company meets the following geographical, State Aid and SME criteria, you can qualify* for support as part of our European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) project:
- You are a Midlands business located in one of the target LEP areas – Greater Birmingham, Solihull or The Marches
- You have received less than 200,000 Euros De Minimis State Aid in the last three years under Commission Regulation (EU) No 1407/2013
- You meet the European Union definition of a SME – you employ fewer than 250 full-time staff (or the equivalent), have an annual turnover of no more than 50 million Euros and / or an annual balance sheet of no more than 43 million Euros.
Client Feedback
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“Zenzero are exploring ways of improving how searches are conducted in our products beyond a simple list of matching results. Dr Peter Lewis and Dr Darren Chitty at Aston University were quickly able to recommended a document clustering approach that would allow users to execute an initial search, and potentially discover unexpected links and correlations between matching records, then drill into the details of a correlation to discover further relations."
Darren Barrick, Technical Director at Zenzero
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“There was an underlying desire to develop a solution that was not tied to a specific domain, and a solution that could deal with both structured and unstructured data. Think Beyond Data were able to provide a working proof of concept using expertise that Zenzero did not have the in-house experience to develop. We found the team easy to work with and they kept us updated on progress throughout the project.”
Darren Barrick, Technical Director at Zenzero
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“The work from Think Beyond Data has led to us greatly improving our technical proposition and commercial endeavours. Indeed, it underpins much of what we now are successfully selling on our new website at www.foldingspace.co.uk. The quality of each report was outstanding and the consequent debate and discussions with us were very informed and involving; there was a real sense of innovative collaboration."
Geoffrey N. Smith, Managing Director at Folding Space
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“Our experience with the ERDF project was constructive, instructive and extremely enjoyable, which is not the norm for most applied research projects. The work undertaken by the excellent Aston University team of Darren Chitty, Peter Lewis, Alina Patelli and Antonio Garcia Dominguez was comprehensive and illuminating. I certainly commend you and your colleagues and the ERDF initiative. It was very worthwhile.”
Geoffrey N. Smith, Managing Director at Folding Space
Where to Next?
Contact us for more information and to check your company meets our eligibility criteria.
If you are not eligible, there are further opportunities to work with us outside our European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) project.
For longer-term support – typically up to three years – why not try a Knowledge Transfer Partnership with our colleagues here at Aston University?
Funded by Innovate UK, these allow your company to bring in new skills and the latest academic thinking to deliver a specific, strategic innovation project through a knowledge-based partnership. We are one of the leaders in this area, with more nationally funded projects than any other university in the West Midlands.
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