Some say that business is all about who you know. Most of us can’t say that we haven’t had some help along the way, whether it’s been an introduction to the right person or a reference from someone admirable. Knowing the right person may not be the only way to do business, but no one will deny that it certainly helps the process go smoother. These “warm connections” can be the difference between getting the sale or walking away empty handed. What if there was a way to make every connection a “warm” one? That is exactly what founders Ray Smith and Connor Murphy had in mind when they created Datahug. Datahug, in their own words, is “an innovative Automated Relationship Intelligence platform that analyses corporate communication traffic to build a professional network of all relationships connected to your company.” In other words, it’s a “who knows who” tracking system that helps get you in touch with the right people.
Datahug takes information through various sources to determine who you are close to and builds a network from it. Pulling from your contacts, email, and calendar, it uses its relationship engine to find who you know the best and who you are merely acquaintances with. Reading just the header information of emails it can find out who has meeting with whom, and pass that info to others in the company who are searching for an in.
Some of this may come off as invasive, but Datahug takes privacy very seriously. Their software won’t go through the email except for the header information it needs, and you have complete control over which connections of yours are shared with your coworkers. Say you have a business relationship that you know would be harmed if others were to use you as an intermediary, simply make that contact private, and no one will see it. Unlike most social networks people use without care, this information is kept strictly within your network, not out in the open, and won’t be shared with the outside world. In fact, your profile is set to private by default, and users on your network can’t see anything until you change it.
When you search for a company on Datahug and select it, it pulls up all the connections your network has to it, but it also shows how strong those connections are. This is where the relationship engine really shows its genius. It doesn’t just base it on one email, but the frequency of contacts, and builds a rank or strength of connection. This technology gives leverage to a company that no other product really can give on such a massive scale.
It’s not surprising that Datahug has won several awards since their launch in 2009, including the “Technology Startup of the Year” in 2010 and the Maples & Calder “Spark of Genius” award. If you are wanting that edge over your competition, or are struggling to get those sales, look no further. You can read more about Datahug on their website at www.Datahug.com.
Also, I’ve just learned that Datahug will be in the Plantronics booth at Dreamforce next week (9/18-9/21) in booth #1550. If you attend, make sure to swing by and check them out first hand!