Fireside Chat with the Creator of marvin.

This month, you have been hearing a lot about the marvin. product launch.  Here at Bimotics, it is a very exciting albeit dramatic time.  We are thrilled to see how the whole team has come together to carry out all the tasks and steps needed for launch. Synergy is real. We are seeing it first hand. 

To get a better sense of what we are bringing to market here is the transcript of a question and answer with our technical lead and co-founder, Roberto Landrau.

How did marvin. come about? 

While developing our big data and business intelligence tool for small and medium sized businesses, in almost every instance we needed to import multiple files from multiple APIs, from multiple clients, during multiple time frames.  The process was extremely tedious if not impossible without some sort of intelligent and automated ingestion engine that could get a handle on all this data.  From this quandary, marvin. was born.

marvin. is super easy to configure and allows users to manage Google Cloud APIs like Google Cloud Storage and BigQuery. Before marvin., files could only be entered into Google BigQuery one at a time manually --great for testing, but not feasible for our SMB analytics product.  Initially, we decided to build marvin. for internal purposes in order to manage the ingestion of our clients’ data.  Almost immediately, some of our more sophisticated clients asked to use marvin. for their own Google Cloud Platform needs. We decided to make it a commercial ready product by adding few additional capabilities such as multi-user, account based settings, support model and subscription based payments.

What makes marvin. a cloud BI tool? 

marvin. was born in the cloud, it scales to hundreds if not thousands of users seamlessly by leveraging Google’s App Engine. marvin. is a cloud BI tool as it ingests data from on-premise files or cloud files into one of the most powerful analytical databases on the market. Currently, marvin. focuses on the ingestion of files, but in the near future our gallery of API connectors and the integration of our visualization engine will allow users to store massive amounts of data as well as analyze and manipulate it simply through a robust graphical interface.  

What makes it for big data?

marvin. is capable of ingesting data for multiple clients at the same time, and its storage capacity is  limitless. There is no need to manage servers, or disks, or IT resources. Users can analyze billions of records within seconds, not days or weeks. Watching marvin. in action is truly impressive.  With its parallel import capability and ease of use, it is the perfect tool for your big data needs. Also consider that SMBs can use this tool to gather data in real time from multiple applications commonly used to support day to day business, such as popular accounting and CRM software. Our ingestion engine also supports data in more complex formats like nested JSON, allowing businesses to overcome both big and small data challenges from a single location.

Who do you expect will use it?

marvin. is primarily geared towards Google Developers and Google Cloud Platform users. Non-developers that still work in with technology and IT will rejoice as there is nothing to code. Simply gather your data in CSV or JSON, upload the file and configure an automated import. Subsequent files will follow the same pattern.

Users with voluminous amounts of data and no time to deal with servers, disks and networks will benefit the most from marvin.. The UI is easy to use and wizard setup screen helps you to configure the ingestion within seconds.

Where can I find marvin. on sale?

marvin. is now available via the Google Web Chrome Store or at www.bimotics.com/marvin.  Be sure to check out our animated overview video as well!

What’s with the lowercase m and the period?

Bimotics is very serious about the products we build, but our marketing team is also focused on one of the cornerstones of our company culture: fun.  We certainly had a blast coming up with marvin..  marvin. stands for Massive Analytics Repository on a Very Intelligent Network, quite a name for a cute little robot.  By going with a small “m” and the period at the end, the name transforms into an iconic symbol, a bold statement.  Once you get to know marvin., you will surely love him. period.

3 Reasons to Run Your Business Intelligence in the Cloud

With hundreds of thousand users now working on different cloud applications like Google Apps for business, Salesforce’s CRM, and Quickbooks online for accounting, it is clear that the cloud is the way of the future.  If your business analytics solution has not already headed skyward, it is worth considering the move.  Here are three reasons to run your business intelligence solutions, ie business dashboards, analytics, and KPIs, on the cloud.

Accessibility: Available On Any Device

Cloud technologies are moving towards responsive designs which enable dashboards to automatically reorganize information based on screen size. New cloud technologies adjust reports to present the most meaningful information based on the size of the device. Due to faster internet speeds, live analytics database connections allow for real time or near real time updates to business dashboards and analytics even on small devices. 

Since most of the computing power is on the cloud servers, the devices only require a simple browser to display the visualization or reports.  Cloud providers enable developers to support multiple devices, screen sizes and operating systems, in some cases even while offline. What is better than having your business metrics and info wherever and whenever you need them?

No Need for IT Resources to Maintain Massive Hardware Infrastructures

This is one of cloud technology’s biggest pluses. Cloud BI allow businesses to focus on running and managing their core offerings while leveraging applications and letting the service providers take care IT and the related resources needed to operate and maintain a technological infrastructure.  

Rather than draining resources on hardware maintenance, operating systems, networks, backup, storage, load balancing, and on-site data storage, businesses can instead shift their focus to the productive use of their data.  Google Cloud Platform, for example, provides offerings ranging from Platform-as-a-Services (PaaS) to Software-as-a-Service (SaaS), which encompass database, storage, and security management solutions, to name a few.

Access to Continuous Improvement and New Features

In order to make updates to non-cloud technologies, you need to take the application offline, install the patch or service pack, and finally test to make sure the update integrated correctly.  Updates on the cloud are a breeze in comparison. In fact, with the cloud’s continuous updates and improvements on the backend, product upgrades or fixes can be rolled out easily without huge interruptions or additional software purchases.  Continuous cloud updates translate to an enhanced user experience.  Google App Engine, for example, allows developers to push out new versions with a single click, providing users with instant updates the next time they use the service or application.  

There are many more benefits of running your analytics running via cloud technology. What benefits were you surprised by?

Bimotics 2014 in Review

2014 has been a productive year for Bimotics. While we have put in the long hours, as founders, we feel the work is never done.  Armed with optimism, we look forward to reaching new milestones in 2015.  2014 was full of challenges and successes and we have learned from all of them.   Reflecting on the year that was, here is the recap of our top 3 wins in 2014.

3. Implemented Marketing Automation: Set up flexible inbound and social marketing infrastructure  that the team could maintain and edit.  After evaluating several options, we chose  Hubspot as their inbound marketing and social media focus synergized well with our business model. With our increased marketing activities we were able to fully engage two campaigns which led to consistent growth in site traffic and lead generation.  We have really increased our visibility.  We are now receiving over 600 visitors a month to our website.  We are developing our marketing strategy to effectively hone in on even more channels to spread the word and gain further traction.

2. Became among the first Google Cloud Partners: Last year we became newly minted technical partners with Google Cloud Platform. We then got invited to their pilot certification program. In the first quarter, our technical founder Roberto completed the vigourous process of becoming among the first Google Cloud Certified Partners. With this new status, we have gained additional credibility within technical and investor circles.   More importantly, the relationship allowed us to successfully build a fully HIPAA compliant cloud environment for a client.

1. Launched our big data application,  marvin.:  Without having to code, our app gets your data warehouse on the world’s most powerful cloud in just minutes. marvin. is just the first step in realizing Bimotics’ vision of analytics for all businesses, but we are  on our way! Since launching in the fall we have attracted over 30,000 visitors and gained almost one user per day. We have learned so much about getting to market and we will continue to build on this early success.

With these accomplishments under our belt, we have the much needed stepping stones to keep Bimotics going into 2015. Business planning is well underway for next year and in our next segment we’ll outline some of our New Year’s Resolutions.  Until then, we wish you all a wonderful holiday season and a prosperous New Year.

Related Blogs:

marvin. now available in the Chrome Store

5 things we are looking for in our next employees