Business Post Group Transforms Data Strategy with Devoteam

The Business Post Group, a prominent player in Irish media, has embarked on a significant digital transformation initiative with the assistance of AI consultancy firm Devoteam. This collaboration aims to enhance the organisation’s data capabilities using Amazon Web Services (AWS), ultimately expanding its digital-only news subscriber base from 10,000 to 40,000.

Established as Ireland’s only privately-owned national media company, the Business Post Group is known for its respected journalism and diverse portfolio, which includes notable brands like Irish Tatler and Food & Wine. The company’s digital transformation strategy is driven by the changing landscape of news consumption and the need to adapt to emerging technologies.

Recently, the Business Post Group acquired a comprehensive dataset that encompasses property, business, and legal information. Initially intended to bolster their journalism, the organisation identified broader applications across various sectors, particularly focusing on property information as an immediate challenge.

The property records contain extensive ‘Site Plans’ featuring addresses that predate the introduction of the Eircode system in 2015, which assigned unique identifiers to every address in Ireland. This transition created a pressing need to update existing address data to align with the modern Eircode format, ensuring its relevance and usability.

Matching the legacy addresses in the Business Post’s records to the new Eircode system presented several challenges. Inconsistencies in legacy addressing formats, difficulties in tracking building modifications, and outdated legal property information complicated the process. As a result, searching for accurate data became inefficient, relying on time-consuming and potentially error-prone manual matching.

Recognising the potential benefits of resolving these challenges, the Business Post Group aimed to match pre-Eircode ‘Site Plan’ data to contemporary Irish address standards, targeting an ambitious match rate of over 70%.

Devoteam, an AWS Premier Partner with a focus on cloud migration and Generative AI, was enlisted to develop a robust solution. By creating a sandbox environment using the Anthropic Claude 3.5 Sonnet model, Devoteam harnessed a powerful AI engine to facilitate the data transformation. Additionally, the company refined and normalised the dataset, incorporating Irish Government open data to enhance matching accuracy.

With clean data established, the next step involved developing a sophisticated geo-matching algorithm designed for precise location identification, supported by a reliable data processing pipeline. The matching process unfolded in two stages. Initially, latitude and longitude coordinates were employed from both property records and planning application polygons to identify potential matches.

For instances where multiple locations were identified, AI-driven analysis of satellite imagery and contextual planning data was utilised to refine results. This dual approach enabled accurate matching of potential Eircodes by considering spatial relationships and contextual information within planning applications.

Rigorous testing was pivotal for a solution dealing with sensitive property data, ensuring the system’s effectiveness while maintaining thorough documentation for smooth knowledge transfer. Devoteam’s architecture leveraged four key AWS services: AWS Lambda / Notebooks, AWS Bedrock, AWS Location, and AWS S3.

The outcome was a successful transformation of historical records into a modern, searchable resource for the proof-of-concept area of County Carlow. The system processed over 55,000 locations across 15,669 planning applications, achieving an impressive 85% match rate—surpassing the initial 70% target. This success paves the way for potential nationwide implementation.

The accomplishments of this proof of concept are foundational for the Business Post Group’s larger digital transformation initiative. The solution not only enhances content delivery but also opens doors for new data services. Following these results, the Business Post Group is actively strategising a comprehensive migration through the AWS Migration Acceleration Program (MAP).

“The technical team at the Business Post Group has found real value in collaborating with Devoteam,” stated Craig Tait, Group Technical & Data Director. “Their structured approach brings a diverse range of strengths to the table, enabling us to address challenges and capitalise on opportunities with impressive speed and tangible results.”

The partnership with Devoteam has not only met but exceeded expectations, demonstrating the Business Post Group’s commitment to transitioning into a data-driven, digital-first organisation. As the media landscape continues to evolve, this transformation positions the Business Post Group to remain competitive and relevant in the modern era.