Startup Star: Skylytics

More than ever, data is critical to business success. But, what’s a business to do with all that information? That’s the problem that Skylytics, founded in April of 2020, is eager to solve through “continuous intelligence,” which Mike Ormerod, president and co-founder, defines as “the right data, at the right time, to make the right business decision.”

While this kind of data analysis has been used by large corporations for years, Skylytics makes that service available to companies that don’t have the resources for their own in-house analytics. “How can we provide this concept of continuous intelligence that a lot of larger enterprises use, how can we bring this to the mid-market?” Ormerod asked. “We work with everybody from literal start-ups, two guys in a garage who have the next great hardware idea, through to some fairly large U.S. corporations, and we work with everybody in between.”

Skylytics in Nashua debuted at the same time as the global pandemic was emerging, and that certainly presented challenges, Ormerod concedes. But it also offered opportunities, such as a sudden demand for contact tracing analysis. Other technologies were evolving, such as artificial intelligence, and others were becoming more accessible, such as off-the-shelf sensors, which meant that the market was ripe for what Skylytics offers.

The firm guides clients to hardware to use to gather information, then helps them to understand when and how to use that information. For example, sensors can be placed on equipment and if a change in vibration is recorded, AI might recommend preventative maintenance to avoid a costly loss of production.

Skylytics grew its business 300% over the past year and more than 900% between 2020 and 2022. Ormerod says the biggest challenge is hiring the right people to meet increasing demand.

The company has clients that fly drones over construction sites, track alcohol through the entire supply chain, and build the architecture behind social media platforms. “We do some cool, interesting stuff,” Ormerod says.