SiMX
Easy-to-use Tools to Automate Data Processing

“As information volumes and analytics solutions increase, data extraction and mining have become important processes within IT departments,” begins Andrei Afanassenkov, Co-Owner, SiMX. Organizations receive data from various sources through reports which are designed in a way that makes data analysis very difficult. “Data analysts resort to retyping, copying and pasting, or manually tallying the information from these reports in order to produce data suitable for analysis.” However, manual data processing can be error-prone, resulting in inefficient data management, and information governance. SiMX enables companies to automatically extract data from PDF, HTML, and text files and make it available in a standardized format for further analysis. “We allow clients to bring data together from such diverse sources as web pages, proprietary data storages, and files to fully automate data processing,” explains Afanassenkov.

The company’s TextConverter deals with unstructured or loosely structured data. The tool allows users from a non technical background to easily set up data extraction projects in minutes. On the other hand, IT professionals can implement fully automated complex data extraction workflows using script-based customization, programming API, scheduling capabilities, and batch processing. Users can then use SiMX’s TARGET Reports to create summary and detailed reports using graphical outputs, form, table, and crosstab layouts. Additionally, clients are also benefited from the script customization, programming API, and the ability to output to HTML, PDF or MS Word documents offered by TARGET reports. In addition, the company offers TARGET Application Development Suite, which is an integrated environment for developing custom web-based applications.

To help companies automate their data processing operations, SiMX offers a complete 4R solution—Retrieve, Reconstruct, Reconcile, and Report—to implement a data processing workflow. As a first step, data is accessed and retrieved from various media channels and storage systems. Next, clients can implement SiMX TextConverter for data extraction to ensure rapid and agile project development.

We allow clients to bring data together from such diverse sources as web pages, proprietary data storages and any types of files to fully automate data processing

To reconcile and fine tune all the data extracted, users can implement SiMX database transformers that build cross references and consolidate new and existing records. Interestingly, SiMX’s solutions are created with a view to empower business professionals from a non-technical background to set up data extraction easily within minutes. The unique features that SiMX solutions offer such as visual setups, hierarchical templates and customizations, add a silver lining to its stature in the market. The company has served various clients including Smyyth, Centricity, and Allstate with its stellar solutions. For instance, Air liquid USA, a chemical manufacturer, was receiving large amounts of certificates of analysis from dozens of suppliers. To automate the data extraction process, the client sought help from SiMX. The company enabled Air Liquid USA to processes daily emails, identifies input file layouts, extracts COA data, verifies the consistency of extracted data based on customizable rules, and loads data into Oracle warehouse. “This form of automated approach allowed Air Liquid to free several data entry specialists from this type of dreary manual operations,” states Afanassenkov.

Moving ahead, SiMX is planning to equip TextConverter with web user interfaces making it a cloud-based data extraction solution delivered as SaaS. The company’s web applications will soon be available on mobile devices. Further, SiMX will expand its presence to Malaysia, Singapore, Israel, and other countries where data should be extracted from sources other than English language. “We are working to make components more attractive to business professionals by creating canned, industry-specific data extraction templates,” concludes Afanassenkov.