Data Magazine, a London based magazine which aims to showcase the latest innovations, breakthroughs, and greatest companies across the data and analytical industries, recently released a publication detailing their top picks for the 18 best South Africa big data startups & companies.

We are proud to announce that Farosian was not only selected as one of the 18 best South Africa-based big data startups, but also selected by Futurology as one of the 12 most innovative Johannesburg based machine learning companies. Before we dive into why this nomination is such a big deal for us, let’s take a minute to get a deeper understanding of what big data is why we fit into this category.

Farhad Bhyat, CEO and co-founder of Farosian has said before that if knowledge if power, then data is gold. With the transition into the digital age, data has become more valuable than ever before. This information is the metaphorical key to unlocking huge benefits, insights, and competitive advantages that certain data represents. In simple terms, big data is more diverse, highly complex data sets, which are usually from new data sources. Oracle describes it as “data sets that are so voluminous that traditional data processing software just can’t manage them. These massive volumes of data can be used to address business problems you wouldn’t have been able to tackle before.”

Big data is essentially comprised of 3 core elements, namely volume, velocity, and variety. Volume being the amount of data, as big data requires the processing of large quantities of low-density, unstructured data such as a feed on social media. Velocity is the speed at which the data is received and processed. Finally, variety is basically the different kinds of data which are available. Examples of this could be things such as videos, audio recording and so much more which are unconventional and difficult to process.

So how does Farosian collect, analyse and interpret data?

At Farosian, we use a combination of artificial intelligence and robotics process automation (RPA) to assist us with this process. At Farosian we analyse 2498 social and digital media data points to reveal the true person behind the data. Our social media screening process involves an analysis of an individual’s full social media history across all major platforms. Take note – the only information assessed is the information which the individual has made publicly available, so that all privacy settings and laws governing social and digital media use are followed.

At Farosian, we don’t just collect information which is deemed as a ‘red flag’, but rather take a more holistic approach to gather both positive and negative information. This provides a clearer understanding of the individual and their online activity, and this information is incredibly valuable for businesses as it provides them with the information to make better hiring and business decisions.

Our data is then analysed and interpreted by our team of highly qualified anthropologists who ensure that all the information being collected is accurate. This is also where an individual is given their ‘risk score’. This data is then condensed into a social media screening report which is delivered to a client. The data excludes all personal information such as gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and religious and political affiliations to ensure that there is no bias in the reporting process.

Here at Farosian, we are humbled to be recognised as one of South Africa’s top big data companies, and we congratulate all the other businesses who were also selected. The tech and startup scene in South Africa is growing, and we are so fortunate to be a part of it!

If you’d like more information about how Farosian’s Social & Digital Media Reports can benefit your organisation, or if you’d like to know more about how we do it – get in touch today and make sure to follow Farosian on social media to keep up with our latest developments!

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