Nielsen’s Ronjan Sikdar on Maximizing Data with Rhiza

To address all of these issues at once Nielsen recently launched Rhiza pronounced Riseuhamp160 Using it is simple and fast amp160Customers login and start a new analysis select a few fields such as which data sets they want and which criteria they care about eg local markets demographics etc and then run the report amp160Much of it is customizable marketers can even change the graphs to their companyamp8217s color scheme amp160The full report can then be exported into a downloadable PowerPoint presentationTo learn more about how Rhiza works and why it matters MediaVillage sat down with Ronjan Sikdar Vice President and General Manager of Nielsen RhizaDavid Berkowitzamp160 What is Rhizaamp8217s background Ronjan Sikdaramp160 Rhiza was founded about eight years ago by a group of exCarnegie Mellon folks in Pittsburghamp160 Itamp8217s always been a flexible data visualization and insights platform but the team focused on different data types from government to nonprofit to media dataamp160 The common thread Thereamp8217s a lot of big data out there and there are a lot of ways to get caught in the constant analysis loopamp160 People think amp8220Itamp8217s going to take three weeks to put together this cool reportamp160 How can I make it easier to find a story in real time that I can refresh over timeamp8221Rhiza was acquired by Nielsen in February 2017amp160 Itamp8217s a team of software developers data engineers product leaders and designers amp160I joined the mix at the beginning of this year to play the role of connector with other parts of Nielsen amp160My background is in the analytical practitioner worldamp160 Iamp8217m a stats guy at the coreamp160 For someone like me seeing this kind of technology and what it can do for the analytical process is very exciting amp160Rhiza makes it simple and advanced researchers can dive deeper because it makes the process of discovery trendseeking and repeatability less arduousamp160 Whether itamp8217s Nielsenamp8217s data sets or your own data sets you can you pull them all together into one placeBerkowitzamp160 Why the name RhizaSikdaramp160 The name is related to amp8220rhizomeamp8221 underground plant stems that spawn rootsamp160 Good data visualization is the root of good decision makingamp160 If you get the root right the plants and foliage are all byproducts of thatBerkowitzamp160 Do any kinds of data sets not make sense for thisSikdar amp160If you have a lot of modeling or calculations it makes sense to do those manipulations first before getting Rhiza involvedamp160 You want the output to be in a place where Rhiza can visualize and show it fastBerkowitzamp160 How do customers get access to itSikdar amp160Rhiza is a webbased application that works in conjunction with other Nielsen products and firstparty dataamp160 For example Rhiza offers clients that use Nielsen Scarborough for behavioral and local qualitative analysis a new way of looking at the dataamp160 We do have some situations where clients only want access to one set of data and they just get a license for that amp160The access can change based on client needs and preferencesBerkowitzamp160 Is there any limit to how much of your own data you can uploadSikdaramp160 Just your imagination in the philosophical senseBerkowitzamp160 If you wanted to visualize data before using Rhiza what would you doSikdaramp160 Some of our data sets have some level of visualization hardcoded into their delivery platforms by the teams who build them amp160Traditionally for Nielsen the data in which we deliver the marketplace were not easily visualizedamp160 With Rhiza you have more flexibility in how something can be visualizedamp160 You can build any visualization you want against any dataset you wantamp160 Itamp8217s a common language for visualization that can be used for multiple data sets and itamp8217s a way to pull together disparate datasets into one insights dashboardBerkowitzamp160 What kinds of clients are gravitating toward thisSikdaramp160 Rhiza has been appealing to local TV and local radio stationsamp160 As we continue to integrate more data sets and demonstrate the ease of use and flexibility of the platform it will become clear to more types of clients the value we have hereBerkowitzamp160 Whatamp8217s an interesting way that a customer has used Rhiza Sikdaramp160 We looked at some of our spending data coming out of our Nielsen Buyer Insights credit card spend data and we mapped that against retailer footprints quotIamp8217m retailer X with store locations in 50 locations amp160Show me a heat map of sales for each location and show me how Iamp8217m performing relative to my competitors by zip codequotWe have had similar success with automotive data for TV and radio clients as wellamp160 Rhiza can create a heat map of their local TV and radio station audiences auto dealership locations what the dealer has sold and the number of buyers at the dealer amp160This allows media owners to show sales locations mapping to tell strong media storiesBerkowitzamp160 You39ve held quite a few roles at Nielsen during your 14year tenureamp160 What is it that keeps you excited to keep pursuing new challenges internallySikdaramp160 There are always new roles and new challenges out there working at Nielsen amp160I started out effectively as a data scientist in our new product innovation practice and I did that for four yearsamp160 I then did a long stint about nine years in our digital analytics practice amp160Now with the ability to take on a recently acquired startup and be able to lead it the role has evolved with different competency areas and clients with different types of people Iamp8217m working with and so many new skills to test and learnFor me itamp8217s ultimately the serendipity of it allamp160 I donamp8217t know whatamp8217s in store over the next few years but I know thereamp8217s going to be something coolamp160 Thereamp8217s always going to be something new fun and impactful to work onClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Nielsen’s Ronjan Sikdar on Maximizing Data with Rhiza

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David Berkowitz

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Nielsen’s Ronjan Sikdar on Maximizing Data with Rhiza

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