Museum analytics startup Dexibit has scored a collaboration with London's National Gallery in what has been hailed as a ‘great accolade' for the company.
Dexibit, which has been working on big data analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to help better understand the visitor experience for galleries, libraries and archives and museums (GLAMs) both in New Zealand and around the world.
Dexibit's product analyses factors such as weather, school teams and visitor movement to provide GLAM institutions with a deeper understanding of the visitor experience and how they could run future exhibitions. This can also help with recruiting visitors and funding, the company states.
Dexibit CEO Angie Judge says that big data is bringing innovation to the cultural sector, particularly at a time when the landscape is shifting under its feet.
“The National Gallery's digital vision leads the way for the cultural sector – as museum analytics transition from retrospectively reporting the institutions' own history, to using artificial intelligence in predicting our cultural future,” she explains.
More than 6 million people visit the National Gallery every year. The collaboration with Dexibit will help the institution move beyond past visitor experiences and focus on predictive analytics for the future.
“The National Gallery has put big data and analytics at the core of our digital strategy,” comments The National Gallery's digital director, Chris Michaels.
“We are delighted to be working with Dexibit to explore the potential of predictive analytics for better understanding on how we can serve our audiences. Machine learning and artificial intelligence have huge potential value for helping museums build better insight and develop new kinds of financial sustainability,” he continues.
“We believe these new models can help us create better value for our visitors, and that the learnings we generate can help not only us but the wider sector. We look forward to working with Dexibit to unlock this exciting new area.
Judge says Dexibit could not have done it without the support from Callaghan Innovation, which helped them progress from analytics straight into machine learning.
“Callaghan Innovation has done such a wonderful job of sharing our vision for the future with intelligent insights for visitor behaviour, and supporting us in rapidly and meaningfully bringing innovative advancements to the cultural sector,” Judge explains.
Callaghan Innovation has supported Dexibit's product development since 2016, and spokesman Hēmi Rolleston is calling the collaboration a ‘great accolade' for Dexibit.
“It reflects the value of investing in innovators, which is what we are here to do. We're here to connect businesses to the networks, capability and funding they need to make their ideas happen,” he says.
Earlier this year Dexibit was a finalist in several categories of the 2017 Hi-Tech Awards, including New Zealand Venture Investment Fund (NZVIF) Hi-Tech Start-Up Company of the Year, ATEED Best technology for the Creative Sector and Qual IT Best technology for the Public Sector.
Callaghan Innovation supported Dexibit through ATEED, one of 14 organisations contracted to deliver the government's Regional Business Partner Programme. Regional Business Partners are able to use Callaghan Innovation services and connect to business capability funding, mentors, expertise, connections and local business initiatives.
“Congratulations to Dexibit, who in relatively short time have found international success. Stepping up to the challenge of technological change is something New Zealand has to do if we are to compete successfully in today's world,” Rolleston concludes.