IBM announced two analytics-focused research projects that will help telecom service providers and e-retailers improve customer service and loyalty as well as increase new-customer acquisitions.

Scientists at IBM Research labs in India and Israel have made advancements in analytics to examine the way customers communicate, make purchasing decision, and download applications. Both projects enable communication providers to quickly find actionable insights in huge volumes of data all while learning how their customers preferences change.

Operating like a social barometer, IBMs Social Network Analysis technology is being developed by scientists at IBM Research - India to map the social networks and calling patterns of telco subscribers. By sorting through the anonymous calling data, the technology is able to analyze peoples social behavior with uncanny accuracy.  This type of insight will enable service providers to improve the overall mobile telco experience.

IBM Research - India is conducting pilot projects with telco customers, enabling them to map their subscribers social network, with the goal of reducing customer turnover and increasing customer satisfaction.  By analyzing calling patterns, service providers can now develop more attractive and useful subscriber plans particularly for those high-volume, highly social subscribers who seem to heavily influence their friends' calling plan decisions. Mapping relationships between individuals, groups and organizations enable services providers to better identify target markets and develop more effective customer retention programs.

To preserve complete privacy, the technology doesn't capture any personal details of the callers, or any information about the conversation held during telephone calls. Instead, the algorithms examine enormous amounts of existing quantitative data such as call duration, volume, and time of day, as well as frequency and points of origination.

IBM Customer Analyst technology, under development by IBM Research Haifa, focuses on better understanding Internet users particularly mobile telephone subscribers. The proof-of-concept technology employs sophisticated algorithms to create a detailed profile of existing and potential customers by analyzing purchasing and download habits. This can help carriers and retailers predict what products and services and what combinations of these offerings will appeal to particular consumers.