Graph Technology Mini-Series Part 1
Jun. 18th, 2020
Need for insights in times of corona
During the corona crisis governments and companies have seen that some of their processes are not working as before and that broader insights are necessary to develop sustainable collaboration and production in the future. Deeply understanding the dynamics of how countries, communities, governments and companies are connected can be key in answering pressing questions like:
▸ "How can companies plan their supply chains to be protected from external shocks like Corona?”
▸ “What universities and institutions should collaborate to effectively find a vaccine?”
▸ “How can companies organize their remote workforce effectively?”
▸ “How do companies build strong support networks for times of distress?”
What we have learnt from the current pandemic is that we have to view the connections between companies, governments and communities as a whole, not only on a bilateral basis.
nevaal has come up with a solution to view these connections on a global scale and to answer these questions. Our tool puts available information into graphic structures and makes patterns of connection visible. Links between companies, people, governments and other institutions can be discovered and used to build a base for managing and improving processes.
Our solution: Graph technology
With our software nevaal MapsTM you can analyze social connections with graph technology. People and other entities like companies are visualized as little points called ‘nodes’ and are connected through lines that we call ‘edges’. It’s a new digital technology that allows companies to arrange their data in graphic structures and use integrated analytical tools. Companies such as Google, Paypal or Linkedin have made data analysis the key part of their business model. We at nevaal think that more companies should take the opportunity to manage and analyse the data they produce. Our tool nevaal MapsTM takes care of it under the following guiding principles:
● User friendliness: our software can be handled by non-academic users.
● Transparency: users know what happens with their data at all times.
● Performance: The underlying technology has the ability to process large data sets and put them into order.
● Understanding: With great analytical tools nevaal maps enables a deeper understanding of your data set through visualisation and graph analysis.
The scientific origins
Graph Technology has its routes in the field of sociological network analysis. Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler, held to be one of the best mathematicians up until today, made the first efforts in the field in 1736 by solving the so-called "Seven Bridges of Königsberg" problem. He was given the city map of Königsberg and was asked to find a way through the city under the condition to cross every bridge of the city once and only once.
He abstracted a graph from it which consists of "nodes" that replace the land masses and "edges" for the ways that connect them. In the end Euler proved that it needs an even number of edges to achieve that goal.
Another important contributor to graph theory was sociologist Jacob Moreno. In 1934 he was one of the first scientists that used sociograms to show the social relations within a group of people.
Later sociologist Harrison White showed that the role of a person in a group can be understood just by his relations to others. If two persons have similar kinds of relations within a group, we speak of ‚structural equivalence‘ and assume that they have a similar function in their environment. He also used spreadsheets to capture their structure which is known as block modelling.
Today there are many approaches that transfer those concepts to the world of business. For example Mark Granovetter takes the view that especially the weak ties to other persons give us access to other networks and that these kinds of connections have the highest potential to induce growth.
Now is the time for Graph Technology
As you can see there is already a broad scientific methodology available. Also other circumstances such as the availability of data sets and powerful computers have enabled us to come up with this new cutting-edge technology. If you want to learn more about the power of graph technology and how it can be applied in your business, get in touch with us now. Visit us at www.nevaal.com or contact us directly at info@nevaal.com
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Graph Technology
nevaal Maps
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