Xerox Is Working to Simplify Social Data Mining

Xerox researchers are working on an automated data analytics platform that teaches computers to more accurately determine the sentiment of social media comments and quickly route that information to the right person or team.

"When humans have to step in and evaluate the context of a tweet or route a post, it slows things down and reduces the overall value of social media data," said Tong Sun, who leads the data analytics laboratory at Xerox Research Center in Webster, N.Y., in a statement. "We're piloting a platform that lets computers do the heavy lifting."

According to Xerox, the advances in automation and accuracy could help a customer care agent address an issue before it becomes a crisis or allow a sales executive to make the most of a real-time event in the market. In a recent pilot, businesses were able to respond to comments in hours instead of days or weeks.

To understand the context accurately, Xerox researchers with expertise in text mining, machine learning, and predictive modeling created an analytical platform that extracts the sentiment by reviewing it in context of ongoing conversations. The platform is then able to assess, prioritize, and deliver the insights to the best contact (a customer sales agent or a sales or marketing team), so they can address issues or opportunities.

Already piloted with several customers, the technology is available now as part of Xerox Customer Care offerings and also will be offered to sales and marketing organizations across many industries, including financial services, telecommunications, and retail.

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