Optus enters data analytics market

Optus has partnered with wi-fi driven data analytics firm Skyfii to resell data-driven intelligence about retail habits to its own enterprise clients.

Skyfii today said it had signed a “precursor” deal with the telco in which the pair will team up to offer the analytics suite to one particular (but unnamed) customer.

Optus confirmed the deal, which a spokesman said would add to the large range of agreements it has in place to "assist in developing solutions for our clients".

Skyfii CEO Wayne Arthur told iTnews he expected the initial master services agreement would expand into a broader relationship down the road.

“Optus has an existing client base and sales team that we can leverage from,” he said.

The Skyfii product is currently targeted at the retail sector as well as cafes, pubs and clubs.

The Australian company tracks the movements and behaviour of registered and unregistered users through in-store networks it sets up on behalf of its clients.

“The first set is what we call unassociated data,” Arthur said.

“This is anonymous information we use to track the movements of wi-fi enabled devices through a particular venue using their unique code. We look at the frequency of visits, and patterns between different retailers.

“The second, more interesting, data set is our associated data. This allows us to analyse consumers who register and authenticate to use the free wi-fi services and then connect in store. With this we can start to plot out the behavioural patterns of genders and other demographics."

Skyfii has already compiled a database of between 350,000 and 400,000 unique registered users from its direct relationships, and tracks “millions of anonymous devices everyday” to deliver behavioural intelligence to its clients through a web-based dashboard.

Arthur said the purpose of the information was “ultimately to provide a more personalised customer experience” to the retail consumer.

The new deal will likely see Optus become a reseller of Skyfii's free wi-fi into its existing enterprise customer base, taking over responsibility for the data carriage and management of the accounts.

“We are essentially just the capture, storage and analysis engine,” Arthur said of the back-end role his company will take.

“We’re not managing the wi-fi services themselves.”

Optus was contacted for comment.