Harnessing Technology for Competitive Advantage

Intelligent Economics’ platform is built on the Microsoft Azure App Service, a powerful tool for hosting web applications on Microsoft’s cloud computing services. It also leverages Power BI, a suite of software services, apps, and connectors that transform data into compelling visuals and interactive insights.

The portal was first introduced in 2018 and has been continuously updated with new features and improvements since then. A beta version of the AI bot was launched in November to accelerate customized data searches and enhance the overall user experience.

The bot runs on the Azure OpenAI Service with a GPT4 model, utilizing Azure AI Foundry and Azure AI Search to build, refine, and deploy machine learning models on Azure. Client data remains anonymous, but interactions with the bot are used to fine-tune its responses, tone, and functionality.

The platform and the AI bot are fueled by over 1,000 economic indicators from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, thoroughly verified and regularly polished by Intelligent Economics’ economists – encompassing data points such as per capita income, inflation, retail sales, and personal consumption aggregates. Additionally, the platform includes data for U.S. and Latin American countries.

“The primary benefit is that it’s fed with our database … not relying on random data found online,” explained Chantal Benet, vice president and chief economist at Intelligent Economics.

Furthermore, clients have the option to upload their own internal operating data, such as sales data and price tags, which is not shared with others. They can integrate local public data with their own data to create business projections.

Monthly and yearly indicators are tracked by Vélez’s team of economists from scattered, hard-to-find government websites and public, private sources of economic data. Much of this data is broken down by municipality, providing an in-depth view of the local economy.

Users report having access to all the economic data they need to identify regional and local trends in a single place, available 24/7, easily accessible, and presented in an engaging manner via customized dashboards and colorful charts.

The real-time access allows users to boost the efficiency and productivity of their daily work and corporate planning, thus making them more competitive in challenging environments.

Vélez has also developed his own economic surveys, offering an exclusive monthly consumer confidence index, and provides specific daily analysis explaining indicators and economic trends. Given the portal’s focus on local data, this exclusive analysis provides an edge over other global economic content platforms.

Navigating Local Economics

Thompson, who heads De la Cruz, one of Puerto Rico’s largest advertising and marketing firms with offices in Miami and Colombia, has been a client of Vélez since 2006. Prior to the platform, he received data by phone in marathon sessions. However, he often couldn’t reach Vélez in a timely manner.

Now, Thompson states that the platform is saving him considerable time and stress. For instance, the portal played a crucial role in obtaining necessary data to justify a planned acquisition in the Dominican Republic to his investors and secure the required financing.

The platform even assisted Thompson’s clients. Recently, it was instrumental in identifying potential new markets and opportunities for a multinational bank that had revamped its leadership team in Puerto Rico and was advised by De la Cruz.

“Having everything in a single portal speeds up our entire work and analysis process,” Thompson said. “That’s particularly significant for us.”

Quick access to trustworthy information is particularly important in Puerto Rico. The island, with a population of 3.2 million people, has been experiencing a complex economic downturn since the mid-2000s, according to the World Bank, which, coupled with natural disasters and government crises, has fueled an unprecedented wave of migration.

“The economic situation in Puerto Rico is atypical and requires a short-term outlook to determine your next steps,” said Benet.

Vélez began his career in the island’s government in the early 1990s, working as an economist at the municipality of San Juan. After more than a decade in public service, he founded his own consultancy firm, investing his life savings.

From the start, the economist and his team sought ways to stand out from the competitors – in his case, his then four competitors. He anticipates that digitalization can triple his sales in the next decade and enable him to reach 400 clients without necessarily increasing the current staff.

Benet stated that the firm is focused on further implementing and expanding their digital journey: “We always knew that technology was the future.”

Top image: Gustavo Vélez and Chantal Benet, president and vice-president of Intelligent Economics, at the consultancy firm’s headquarters in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Photo by Brandon Cruz.