Saleem Khan, Chief Data & Analytics Officer, Discovery Data, speaks with Robert Lutton, Vice President, Sandhill Consultants, about the organizational benefits of collaborating with Discovery Data, the data FRAME process, and his role within the organization.

Khan begins by explaining how Discovery Data is beneficial for data-driven organizations that are in en-route transition. The first service provided is basic contact information, which he considers to be the bedrock. The information includes phone numbers, email addresses, and snail-mail addresses of advisors. In addition to that, it provides a decade’s worth of information about the growth graph of these advisors.

"I think one of the key benefits that we provide to CTOs is the ability to have that master contact data that you can bring in-house,” Khan says. “Then, on top of that, I think about this as a layer of maturity. But the bedrock is just having good, quality contact information."

He considers the second layer of service CMOs and CROs are going to require is personalized information. The final layer is intent data. "In the sales and marketing world, intent data is becoming the holy grail." He backs his statement by stating that intent data helps CDOs and CMOs understand what the customer might do shortly. Khan offers the example of a customer buying municipal bonds or browsing ESG-related assets, which increases the chances that he/she might be a potential buyer/investor soon.

Summing up the benefits Discovery data provides, Khan re-affirms, "It’s those three layers. It’s the bedrock of having correct and accurate data for contact information. Then it’s about personalization. And then having this intent data to drive a more real-time discussion."

Khan then moves on to yet another important aspect of the company —  its unique framework that helps deliver the benefits. "One of our core bits of intellectual property here at Discovery Data is our data frame process — FRAME being an acronym for Fuel, Refine, Analyze, Magnify and Execute. He further explains each of the components of this framework to portray their necessities.

Fuel refers to the core data that is sourced. He explains how the data is sourced through SEC, and FINRA, from each state in the United States and some territories within Canada. Once data sourcing is finished, the Refine component comes into play, and the sourced data is examined for mistakes or validation issues.

The next step is to take a closer look at the data; for example, if the AUM looks accurate enough to be reported. This falls under the Magnify component.

Next, Khan explains the Analyze component. "We create something called our growth factors in our advisor success levels. We get a sense of how successful we think this individual could be soon, on a scale of one to five. Is this person going to be an amazing advisor if they were to join your firm or are they going to be on the lower end?"

With the Execute component, data is distributed in various  ways The creation of data feeds, usage of APIs, and business intelligence tools allow customers to analyze data in several ways. "We have a pretty robust process, as you can tell. This data frame process is one of our key differentiators as a company," Khan adds.

Khan maintains that there is an overarching roadmap from the product standpoint, and that the customers drive the data and analytics strategy. "We’re fortunate to have over 1,100 customers in the financial services space,” he says. “So, I will often join customer calls  and actively lead the discussion about what’s working and what isn’t, and what they like to see out of the data. I think that drives a lot of the conversations."

He uses a hockey analogy to describe the company’s data and analytics roadmap. “Proverbially speaking, we try to skate to where the puck is headed,” he says.

In conclusion, Khan says that there are times when customers know what they want and there are times they don’t. Therefore, CAOs  need to understand the market dynamics to put a safe bet on the customers’ needs and wants moving forward.