The golden thread
Technology at RELX
From improving customer outcomes and driving innovation, to the determination to use data for good and helping solve some of the biggest challenges facing society, we hear from the people at RELX who are shaping the world of information and analytics.
“Technology is the golden thread that runs through RELX strategy," says Kumsal Bayazit, CEO of Elsevier and Chair of the RELX Technology Forum.
"It helps us deliver improved outcomes for our customers and build leading positions in long-term global growth markets. Each year we spend over a billion US dollars on technology, so getting it right is critical to our long-term success."
"There are a great many exciting technology developments that we are introducing right now and the benefits we offer our customers today were unimaginable even 10 years ago.”
IMPROVING CUSTOMER OUTCOMES
We help scientists make new discoveries, doctors and nurses improve the lives of patients and lawyers win cases. We prevent online fraud and money laundering, and help insurance companies evaluate and predict risk. Our events enable customers to learn about markets, source products and complete transactions. In short, we enable our customers to make better decisions, get better results and be more productive.
Lidija Janmeijs, graduate software developer in Risk & Business Analytics, is developing real world solutions for customers. “Trade compliance is becoming increasingly regulated and there’s a lot of pressure for banks to improve their vetting processes," says Lidija. “We build software that offers solutions to this, such as our Dual Use Goods screening engine which is aimed at detecting the trade of dual-use and military goods, and our Ship Enforcement Alerts that provide customers with an accurate and reliable notification system to monitor a vessel and its global port calls. Day to day, my team develops the back-end of products and comes up with new ways of solving customer problems with technical solutions. We always keep up to date with new technologies in order to stay on top of what we do and make sure we create the best product.”
For Karen Ho, global product owner in Exhibitions, it’s all about improving the customer experience. “Technology and innovation are core to my work. With a digital transformation mandate, my work seeks to creatively combine customer value, business value and new technology possibilities to innovate on how the customer experience is delivered," says Karen.
DATA FOR GOOD
Across many areas of RELX there is a clear societal benefit to the work we do. And for Gaby Appleton, managing director of Mendeley in Scientific, Technical and Medical, this is truly inspiring. “I am now doing a product development leadership role, where I am leading teams that build software products," says Gaby. “I’m spending my time understanding researcher needs, and bringing together product managers, user experience design people, software engineers, data analytics and marketing people to create the best possible product solutions to researcher problems. I feel privileged to work in a business that has an important societal mission. We are a global business operating in over 170 countries, so I go and see researchers and health professionals in many different places, and it is always inspiring to see the many different ways they are contributing to society."
For Kevin McCabe, vice president of sales in Risk & Business Analytics this is also true. “My current role has given me great exposure to the ways in which our technology helps our customers better serve their customers," says Kevin. “A good example of this is our project with the National Accuracy Clearinghouse in the US, which uses our technology to help states better identify people receiving benefits in multiple state SNAP programs (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program). This allows states to ensure that their program benefits are reaching those truly in need, that people are not receiving multiple benefits to which they are not entitled and that sufficient resources exist in the program to meet all those who need it. This type of work truly has a positive impact on our customers and society in general.”
For Chante King, software engineer in Legal it’s all about supporting the Rule of Law. “Operating under the LexisNexis Business Software Solutions department, with a 40-year history of industry pioneers, my team and I are responsible for a product that forms an integral part of the conveyancing process, as well as the South African property industry as a whole," says Chante. “Technological innovation within the financial services industry is increasing. More and more banks are moving toward an open architecture and exposing their technical specifications to third-party-developers, like us. The advantage of APIs is in the speed of connectivity which increases the delivery of services and information. This is a product I am especially proud to be a part of, as it does not only advance the rule of law, but it provides an integral service to our clients.”
And finally, a word from Olivier Dumon, chief product officer in Scientific, Technical and Medical. “We operate many very successful products in Research and Health on a global scale. The team I manage is composed of about 300 product managers, web analysts, program managers and data scientists. We have people in New York, Philadelphia, Dayton and Saint Louis in the US, Amsterdam and London in Europe and China. I find that my current role is very special because of the people we serve. We help researchers, research leaders, librarians, funding bodies and government bodies, as well as hospitals, health authorities, medical schools and health professionals… the very people that are contributing to society in ways from which we can all benefit.”
INNOVATION runs deep
“Partly because of my engineering background, I am especially passionate about bringing advanced technologies and techniques to help innovate," says Jamie Buckley, chief product officer in Legal. “From machine learning, natural language processing, analytics visualisation to data driven decision making, user-centred design and various artificial intelligence approaches - all focused on making our products as useful as possible.”
Elaine Luk, global product owner in Exhibitions shares the same sentiments. “The primary focus of our team is to make use of customers’ profiles and behavioural data sets to provide high quality recommendations to improve the exhibition experience and bring new innovations to help our exhibitors and visitors connect with the right people to help them grow their business," says Elaine. “Using data to understand customer needs and generate positive business outcomes will differentiate a company as being a winner in the competitive market place. I hope to grow within the data intelligence domain to delight our customers by unleashing the power of the piles of data hiding underneath the surface.”
And for Anton Berisha, a former surgeon and now senior director for clinical analytics and innovation in Risk & Business Analytics, it’s technology innovation that drives successful outcomes. “Today I lead a team of data scientists, software engineers, clinicians and data analysts in developing healthcare risk scores and attributes, using vast LexisNexis public records and other data assets. My work is entirely based on innovative ways of using technology and my team’s expertise to help our customers make better decisions and improve health and financial outcomes for their populations.”
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