Opera Solutions
Encyclopedia
Opera Solutions, LLC is a technology and analytics
company mainly focused on capturing profit growth opportunities emerging from Big Data
. The firm uses a combination of analytics, technology
, machine learning
science, large-scale data management
, and human expertise to build and deliver analytics solutions to large and mid-sized clients in a number of sectors,including financial services
, investment firms, consumer goods, retail
, manufacturing
, distribution
, and government
. Opera delivers predictive analytics
via cloud-based lean enterprise
platforms, custom projects, and strategic affiliations.
with offices in Jersey City
, New York
, Boston
, London
, Paris
, San Diego, Shanghai
, and New Delhi
. The latter three offices support the firm’s analytic and technological activities, developing new models, applications and analytics delivery platforms.
, a three-year-long analytics competition sponsored by the U.S. online movie rental company Netflix
. Opera was part of "The Ensemble", a three-team consortium that finished second, with model performance tied with the winner. The contest attracted 41,000 teams from 186 countries.
Mayor Cory Booker
and Michael Chertoff
, the former head of the United States Department of Homeland Security
under George W. Bush
, as keynote speakers.
in a Guardian
article regarding the 2011 Opera Solutions UK White Paper, "Realising Savings Through Procurement Optimisation", which stated that local government is missing the opportunity to save 10–20 per cent on procurement spending because of a lack of spending visibility and insight. Goldacre criticised Opera's report as "astonishing, shameless bait and switch", saying "these figures are all presented out of nowhere". The criticism was in response to the promotion of Opera's white paper by UK Communities and Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles MP
, as well as the frequent citation of the study in British popular press.
Analytics
Analytics is the application of computer technology, operational research, and statistics to solve problems in business and industry. Analytics is carried out within an information system: while, in the past, statistics and mathematics could be studied without computers and software, analytics has...
company mainly focused on capturing profit growth opportunities emerging from Big Data
Big data
Big data are datasets that grow so large that they become awkward to work with using on-hand database management tools. Difficulties include capture, storage, search, sharing, analytics, and visualizing...
. The firm uses a combination of analytics, technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
, machine learning
Machine learning
Machine learning, a branch of artificial intelligence, is a scientific discipline concerned with the design and development of algorithms that allow computers to evolve behaviors based on empirical data, such as from sensor data or databases...
science, large-scale data management
Data management
Data management comprises all the disciplines related to managing data as a valuable resource.- Overview :The official definition provided by DAMA International, the professional organization for those in the data management profession, is: "Data Resource Management is the development and execution...
, and human expertise to build and deliver analytics solutions to large and mid-sized clients in a number of sectors,including financial services
Financial services
Financial services refer to services provided by the finance industry. The finance industry encompasses a broad range of organizations that deal with the management of money. Among these organizations are credit unions, banks, credit card companies, insurance companies, consumer finance companies,...
, investment firms, consumer goods, retail
Retail
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
, manufacturing
Manufacturing
Manufacturing is the use of machines, tools and labor to produce goods for use or sale. The term may refer to a range of human activity, from handicraft to high tech, but is most commonly applied to industrial production, in which raw materials are transformed into finished goods on a large scale...
, distribution
Distribution (business)
Product distribution is one of the four elements of the marketing mix. An organization or set of organizations involved in the process of making a product or service available for use or consumption by a consumer or business user.The other three parts of the marketing mix are product, pricing,...
, and government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
. Opera delivers predictive analytics
Predictive analytics
Predictive analytics encompasses a variety of statistical techniques from modeling, machine learning, data mining and game theory that analyze current and historical facts to make predictions about future events....
via cloud-based lean enterprise
Lean manufacturing
Lean manufacturing, lean enterprise, or lean production, often simply, "Lean," is a production practice that considers the expenditure of resources for any goal other than the creation of value for the end customer to be wasteful, and thus a target for elimination...
platforms, custom projects, and strategic affiliations.
Company
Established in 2004 by CEO Arnab Gupta, the firm has 600 employees from over 30 countries, including more than 150 scientists. Opera is headquartered in the New York/New Jersey metro areaNew York metropolitan area
The New York metropolitan area, also known as Greater New York, or the Tri-State area, is the region that composes of New York City and the surrounding region...
with offices in Jersey City
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...
, New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, San Diego, Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, and New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
. The latter three offices support the firm’s analytic and technological activities, developing new models, applications and analytics delivery platforms.
Funding
On September 14, 2011, Opera Solutions announced that it had raised $84 million in capital that the company says it will use to build and expand their engineering and sales force. The round was led by Silver Lake Sumeru, with participation from Accel-KKR, Invus Financial Advisors, JGE Capital Management, and Tola Capital.Netflix Prize
In 2009 Opera participated in the Netflix PrizeNetflix Prize
The Netflix Prize was an open competition for the best collaborative filtering algorithm to predict user ratings for films, based on previous ratings....
, a three-year-long analytics competition sponsored by the U.S. online movie rental company Netflix
Netflix
Netflix, Inc., is an American provider of on-demand internet streaming media in the United States, Canada, and Latin America and flat rate DVD-by-mail in the United States. The company was established in 1997 and is headquartered in Los Gatos, California...
. Opera was part of "The Ensemble", a three-team consortium that finished second, with model performance tied with the winner. The contest attracted 41,000 teams from 186 countries.
Big Data Discourse Series
In April 2011, Opera Solutions began what it calls the "Big Data Discourse Series," a series of discussion events with private sector and government leaders focused on the societal and business impact of Big Data. To date, the series has featured NewarkNewark
-United Kingdom:* Newark-on-Trent, a market town in Nottinghamshire in the East Midlands region of England and the oldest Newark** Newark * Newark, Peterborough in Cambridgeshire...
Mayor Cory Booker
Cory Booker
Cory Anthony Booker is the Mayor of Newark, New Jersey. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Booker is a former Newark City Councilman...
and Michael Chertoff
Michael Chertoff
Michael Chertoff was the second United States Secretary of Homeland Security under President George W. Bush and co-author of the USA PATRIOT Act. He previously served as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, as a federal prosecutor, and as assistant U.S. Attorney...
, the former head of the United States Department of Homeland Security
United States Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security is a cabinet department of the United States federal government, created in response to the September 11 attacks, and with the primary responsibilities of protecting the territory of the United States and protectorates from and responding to...
under George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
, as keynote speakers.
Criticism
Opera Solutions was criticised by Ben GoldacreBen Goldacre
Ben Michael Goldacre born 1974 is a British science writer, doctor and psychiatrist. He is the author of The Guardian newspaper's weekly Bad Science column and a book of the same title, published by Fourth Estate in September 2008....
in a Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
article regarding the 2011 Opera Solutions UK White Paper, "Realising Savings Through Procurement Optimisation", which stated that local government is missing the opportunity to save 10–20 per cent on procurement spending because of a lack of spending visibility and insight. Goldacre criticised Opera's report as "astonishing, shameless bait and switch", saying "these figures are all presented out of nowhere". The criticism was in response to the promotion of Opera's white paper by UK Communities and Local Government Secretary Eric Pickles MP
Eric Pickles
Eric Jack Pickles is a British Conservative Party politician. Pickles was appointed Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government of the coalition government headed by Prime Minister David Cameron on 12 May 2010....
, as well as the frequent citation of the study in British popular press.