A TRUE TECHNOLGY TRAILBLAZER
a SysGroup Company
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UNLOCKING THE POWER OF DATA WRITTEN BY
LAURA MULLAN PRODUCED BY
JAMES PEPPER
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w w w.go c o grou p . com
GOCO GROUP
Whether you’re looking to find the right insurance policy or energy tariff, GoCo Group has the answer – and it’s all thanks to data
W
hen you first think of GoCo Group you might recall the catchy jingles and attention-grabbing adverts of one of its
businesses – GoCompare. But behind the scenes it’s clear that the company’s technology prowess has been the key driver of its fame. Recognising that consumers were having a 04
hard time finding insurance deals, GoCompare was launched in 2006, and it was the first comparison website to focus on product features as well as price. It’s proven to be a stellar strategy for success. Since it started, the firm has gone public, diversified into new areas, and is now home to four popular and well-regarded brands including GoCompare, MyVoucherCodes, weflip and Energylinx. A lot can happen over a decade and GoCompare is living proof of that, explains Clive Gilson, Vice President of Technology: “GoCompare started at the kitchen table in 2006 and since then it has grown to become a 300-people strong group with a market capitalisation of almost £400mn,” he enthuses. “It’s been a major journey. We hope to maintain our startup ethos to drive the business forward, even as we become a significant player in
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘VP OF TECHNOLOGY AT GOCOMPARE: MORE THAN A PRICE COMPARISON WEBSITE’ 05
w w w.go c o grou p . com
GOCO GROUP
“ They don’t just want to see us once a year to renew their car insurance; they want to find a partner who can help them save money regularly” 06
— Clive Gilson VP of Technology, GoCo Group
the financial sector and move beyond price comparison.” GoCompare carved a unique path in the comparison space, quickly becoming a household name in the UK. In the early days, GoCompare “championed consumer saving by giving people an option regarding price and product features”, according to Gilson, and it was a winning strategy. However, the landscape is changing swiftly. “Our consumers are maturing,” observes Gilson. “One of the reasons why we diversified from home and car insur-
E XECU T I VE PRO FI LE
Clive Gilson Clive Gilson has substantial experience as a senior technology leader, having worked on major web, mobile, digital software and transformation programmes for nearly 20 years. Gilson has specialised in implementing and developing Agile thought, delivery models and environments at scale in both the commercial and public sectors. He has broad commercial experience having worked with broadcast and media organisations, mobile telcos, in the public sector and government organisations, and most recently in the fintech workspace.
CLICK TO WATCH : ‘VP OF TECHNOLOGY AND GROUP DIRECTOR OF DATA AT GOCOMPARE: THE IMPORTANCE OF PARTNERSHIPS’ 07
ance is that we believe our customers
money in lots of different areas. “Data
want a complete service. They don’t
is at the heart of everything we do,”
just want to see us once a year to switch
adds Gilson. “It allows us to under-
their car insurance; they want to find
stand our customers and actively offer
a partner who can help them save
savings rather than waiting for them to
money every day.”
come and see us. It’s definitely more of
Therefore, while price comparison is
a personalised, data-driven strategy.”
a cornerstone of its business, GoCo
The firm’s proprietary technology
Group is also keen to create a more
platform, SaveStack, is the backbone
personalised, data-driven experience
of this strategy. “Ten years ago, we
which it aptly describes as ‘Savings-as-
wrote the code to create a car insur-
a-Service’. Essentially, this means
ance comparison service and then
creating a concierge type relationship
used that to create comparison services
with people and helping them save
for other products like home insurance. w w w.go c o grou p . com
GOCO GROUP
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By doing this process multiple times it
with our customers on any given
meant that these pieces of software
channel that they choose.”
were messy – we describe it as
GoCo Group’s head office in
spaghetti code,” Gilson explains.
Newport, Wales, perfectly captures the
“SaveStack essentially simplifies this.
firm’s tech-savvy ethos. Just a stone’s
It gives us a data platform where we
throw away from the Welsh capital of
have an event model that allows compo-
Cardiff, the space is humming with
nents (either external or internal) to
activity as both data and technology
interact with each other and to serve
teams work side by side. This is no
the consumer journey on any channel.
mean feat: around 150 people (or just
It’s a reflection of the fact that in the
under 50% of the workforce) work in
2020s no one will rely on just website
the technology and data space. As
journeys. We need to be able to work
Natalie Jakomis, Group Director of 09
E XE CU T I VE PRO FI LE
Natalie Jakomis Natalie Jakomis has over 10 years’ experience leading the establishment of data-driven organisations, strategies, programmes and initiatives. As Group Director of Data at GoCo Group, Jakomis oversees the Group data engineering, data science, data intelligence and web analytics teams and leads on the data strategy for the business, engineering the organising of data, as an activity, a business function and a capability. Jakomis is passionate about unlocking the power in data, to see connections, find patterns, learn new things and bust myths to deliver results and add value. She enjoys working with brilliant and talented individuals, adopting data-first methodologies to make a real difference. w w w.go c o gro up.c o m
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CLICK TO WATCH : ‘GROUP DATA DIRECTOR AT GOCOMPARE: DRIVING INNOVATION WITH DATA’ 11 Data, walks through the office, she
they experiment, gather more data and
outlines how the firm’s 1Tech Vision
embrace it as a learning lesson.
has been a unifying force. “The 1Tech
With a wealth of information at its
Vision essentially describes how data
fingertips, it’s clear that data is
and technology come under one
everything at GoCo Group. “It’s not an
umbrella and how we’re one single unit,”
all-knowing crystal ball but it’s probably
she explains. “It sends out the mes-
as close as you can get,” laughs Jakomis.
sage that data is the core of the business.” “We can use data science techniques It also makes it easier for the business
to find correlations and patterns in the
to create a unifying set of core values
data which can help us make decisions
and principles: for instance, Jakomis
about sales, marketing and our perfor-
points out how the firm aims to be one
mance, for example.” As such, data is
“where innovative failure is encour-
at the forefront of the firm’s strategy.
aged”, meaning that it’s OK if employ-
Today, GoCo Group has a data function
ees make the odd mistake so long as
that consists of four teams, says Jakomis: w w w.go c o grou p . com
GOCO GROUP
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a data engineering team which is
on the website”. On top of this, the
“responsible for the key architectures
company also has a Group Data
within the business, so primarily the
platform which draws upon data from its
firm’s data warehouse and key sys-
several companies including GoCom-
tems”; a data intelligence team which
pare, MyVoucherCodes, Energylinx
“provides insight to the business”; a
and weflip. “The platform is helping us
data science team which is a “combi-
understand our customer base and
nation of data engineers and data
use cases, and so data excellence is
scientists who help the business
key,” she says. “If we want to cultivate
overcome complicated problems”; as
a more data-driven culture, we need
well as a web analytics business which
to make sure we have the right data
“ensures web optimisation and helps
literacy, data confidence, and
to understand customers’ behaviour
ultimately, a high-quality robust data
set that’s accessible to everyone in the business.” Many businesses like GoCo Group have identified data as the next great frontier, and this means that data literacy is a highly coveted skill. Wanting to attract and retain a strong level of expertise, the company has created the GoFurther Academy, which offers opportunities including sponsored degrees, internships, work placements and more. “It gives people the opportunity to flourish in the data space,” adds Jakomis, noting that the company has also worked hard to increase diversity across the workforce whether through hiring, improved communication or events which celebrate diversity. While GoCo Group has sought to
“ The platform is helping us understand our customer base and use cases” — Natalie Jakomis Group Director of Data, GoCo Group
nurture an innovative and collaborative culture internally, it’s also looking beyond its walls for inspiration. Kieron Nolan, Group Director of Technology, points to the firm’s long-lasting partnership with Certus, which was recently acquired by SysGroup. “Certus has been a key technology partner of ours for several years now. They are our hosting partner for all our back-office estate, and they have also assisted us with the upgrades w w w.go c o grou p . com
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GOCO GROUP
of core office infrastructure and end-user devices,” he says. “Their values match ours, making it easy to overcome the challenges that technology presents from time to time.” Elsewhere, Jakomis discusses the firm’s fintech community development project, Machine Learning for Fintech. Recognising that artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning are the future of the financial service market, Goco Group has forged meaningful relationships with players like Money 14
Dashboard. “It’s been a really exciting project,” enthuses Jakomis. “Working together, we’ve built an API that categorises consumer spend by merchant and purpose, aligning with Money Dashboard’s vision of helping people understand their finances, and helping us to accelerate into the fintech community.” GoCo Group has swiftly moved up the ranks to become a leading technology player and make no mistake: it’s there to stay. On the road ahead, Gilson asserts that GoCo Group aims to make its services “ubiquitous”. “We’re really looking forward to the next few years,” he says. “There’s a lot of
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“It’s about helping people everywhere save time and money, with SaveStack playing a crucial role”
exciting opportunities like open banking. That’s the real thrill behind this.” Jakomis agrees, reiterating the firm’s core mission: “It’s about helping people everywhere save time and money, with SaveStack playing a crucial role.”
— Natalie Jakomis Group Director of Data, GoCo Group w w w.go c o grou p . com
GoCo Group Plc. Imperial House, Imperial Way Newport, Gwent NP10 8UH, GB www.gocogroup.com