How AI-powered ML Models Helps Run Unemployment Claims Verification at Scale
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With unemployment application submissions reaching record numbers over the past year, state and local agencies in the United States have faced the challenge of processing unprecedented numbers of claims per week. The digital infrastructure most agencies have in place is unable to handle this volume, resulting in constituents waiting longer, and bad actors taking advantage of vulnerable systems. The Department of Labor Inspector General estimates that $63 billion in claims distributed is either an improper payment or fraud.
Validating claims also requires secure data sharing with other agencies for document and identity verification. Government leaders need a way to allow case adjudicators to quickly and confidently release backlogged claims, integrate with existing systems, and segment legitimate claims from potentially fraudulent ones — all within limited government budgets — securely and at scale.
Implementing a fraud detection solution on Google Cloud
States were under pressure to release payments, while also filtering out potentially fraudulent claims. SpringML and Google Cloud developed a framework to give adjudicators a reliable verification process that quickly filters potentially fraudulent claims, while processing the remaining claims so benefits reach citizens in a timely manner. SpringML and Google Cloud, applied AI-powered machine learning models to detect anomalous patterns in large datasets. Using Google Cloud tools, SpringML implemented a solution to streamline workflows, improve efficiencies, automate processes and identify potentially fraudulent claims.
SpringML used a variety of Google Cloud products to deliver a fraud detection solution, including:
- Google Cloud Storage to store and manage data
- BigQuery to store tabular data and BigQuery Machine Learning (BQML) to conduct machine learning on that data
- AutoML solutions to build predictive models and risk scoring
- Visualization tools such as Looker and Data Studio to present data and help government leaders make informed decisions.
Implementing machine learning to detect improper payments allows agencies to classify claims as “fraud” or “not fraud” based on the number of flags, as well as prioritize the most urgent claims. Deploying intelligent virtual agents to handle frequently asked questions meant that live agents could focus their time on more challenging cases.
Even once the pandemic is behind us, there will be bad actors trying to take advantage of overwhelmed or legacy systems. We’ve identified a few best practices for agencies managing enormous case loads and looking to improve improper payment analytics:
- Move your systems to the cloud. Many on-premises legacy systems can’t update their applications and scale to meet the volume of claims. Moving to a cloud environment enables rapid solution deployment and ingestion of large amounts of data without fear of overloading the system. The cloud scales with you–cost-effectively and securely.
- Understand patterns in the data. The answer is always in the data — we used deep analysis to help uncover suspicious patterns in large data sets. We implemented unsupervised machine learning to learn behaviors and create configurable rules that adjust to new information that comes into the system. We can uncover patterns that are likely associated with fraud – ones that a human might have missed.
- Use AI/ML tools to automate your existing systems and teams. These tools enable humans to work smarter and more efficiently. We automate anomaly detection and create dashboards for adjudicators to rapidly process claims. We are enabling the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development by implementing automatic calculations and processing of recharge amounts, resulting in faster processing times and fewer human errors. Proactive fraud detection and timely calculation of recharge payment allowed DWD to ensure the benefits reached the right individuals.
- Build flexibility into your systems. We discovered that fraud patterns change over time. For instance,flags for fraud during March-May 2020 were vastly different from those we found in June-July 2020. Google Cloud tools make it easy to continually update algorithms to detect patterns and integrate external data sources.
Using Google Cloud tools, we can update digital infrastructure and incorporate machine learning best practices to help organizations efficiently process large volumes of claims and identify high probability fraudulent ones. SpringML provides consulting and implementation services and industry-specific analytics solutions that deliver high-impact business value to accelerate data-driven digital transformation. Learn more about fraud detection and how to improve improper payments analytics by watching our webinar.
Combining IoT and Analytics to Warn Manufacturers of Line Break Downs and Increase Profitability
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Oden Technologies is using the Internet of Things (IoT) to improve the factories of today. The giant network of “things” (including people) connected to each other via the Internet has the potential to reduce waste, increase efficiency, and improve safety across all walks of life. Oden is leading IoT innovation in manufacturing by combining wireless connectivity, big data, and cloud computing.
The use of data to improve manufacturing is practically as old as manufacturing itself. But the computerization of manufacturing has resulted in broad and rapid changes to the way data is collected and processed, as well as the sheer volume of data available.
Oden’s goal is to help manufacturers tap into this data to quickly identify process trends and even warning signs of machine breakdown. Such visibility can reveal opportunities to improve manufacturing and maintenance processes that reduce waste and increase profit margins.
Oden designs and develops data collection devices that can plug into almost any kind of machine and can wirelessly transmit data with minimal complexity and setup time.
Once devices are installed, the Oden technology platform processes data to give manufacturers cutting-edge analytics that are easy to comprehend. Analysis produced by the platform provides factory engineers with data points such as detailed root-cause analysis down to the second, factory-wide performance in real-time, and trend analysis.
Improving cloud delivery
Oden’s previous cloud platform performed satisfactorily, but the company evaluated alternatives in search of potential reductions in cost and complexity and increases in performance.
When evaluating Google Cloud Platform, Oden discovered it would require fewer virtual machine (VM) instances for equivalent performance, which would cut costs. Furthermore, Oden could gain more sophisticated data analytics and machine learning capabilities compared with its existing cloud provider.
Today, Oden runs its entire platform on Google Cloud Platform including Google Compute Engine, Google Cloud Pub/Sub, Google Cloud Bigtable, Google Stackdriver, and Google Kubernetes Engine.
“In order to serve our customers, we need a cloud platform that can scale reliably while keeping costs low, perform under heavy loads, and consistently deliver sophisticated features such as machine learning,” says Willem Sundblad, CEO and Founder at Oden Technologies. “Google Cloud Platform is way ahead in all of these areas compared to our previous cloud provider.”
Capturing tens of millions of metrics a day
Using Google Cloud Platform, Oden can help an average factory capture and store approximately 10 million metrics on a single manufacturing line every day.
Metrics can include extremely granular detail, such as the amount of electricity going to machines, the amount of raw material consumed, and the volume of material produced. Sensors can also capture and transmit environmental information such as temperature, humidity, and dew point so that manufacturers can identify weather-related and seasonal impacts on production.
The updated Oden Cloud Platform uses Kubernetes Engine—powered by the open source Kubernetes system—to run application program interfaces (APIs) that capture data from Oden’s wireless devices on the factory floor.
Google Cloud Pub/Sub then sends the data in real time to Google Cloud Bigtable, where data is processed using Oden’s proprietary analytics tools. Google Stackdriver supports Google Cloud Platform monitoring, logging, and diagnostics, which help Oden deliver its cloud platform with confidence.
Oden Technologies builds dashboards powered by Kubernetes Engine, which pull analyzed data from Google Cloud Bigtable. The dashboards provide customers with real-time visibility into their manufacturing lines. Oden Factory Cloud dashboards allow customers to delve deeper into their data to fine-tune production processes or discover the root causes of production issues.
With the previous cloud provider, Oden required 80 VM instances to run the dashboards. With Google Cloud Platform that number has been cut to 45, which dramatically reduces costs and complexity.
“We migrated from our previous cloud provider to Google Cloud Platform in just one month,” says Willem. “Further, our storage and data analytics costs have decreased by 30%. Cost savings like these allow us to protect customers from rising expenses, keeping us focused on bringing the best products possible to market.”
Faster data access; more efficient factories
With Google Cloud Platform, Oden can now deliver a complete factory analytics picture to manufacturers. In environments where thousands of variables affect the bottom line, businesses can now automatically and perpetually record machine and performance measurement. Oden Factory Cloud gives customers access to comprehensive data insights and can eliminate reliance on onsite infrastructure investments to run their own analytics.
Because manufacturers have access to live data and can analyze production data quickly, they can troubleshoot and resolve problems in minutes rather than months. Such information helps improve product quality, minimize unplanned downtime, cut costs, and improve profitability.
“With the help of Google Cloud Platform, we are helping our customers to be data-driven, which wasn’t possible before,” adds Willem. “They now understand that data is their most important asset. That allows them to be more innovative and continually improve their production processes.”
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As organizations continue to move workloads to public clouds, security professionals must protect the sensitive data and digital identities found in those workloads. Once wary of cloud adoption, many security professionals now believe that the native security capabilities of large public cloud platforms actually offer more affordable and superior security than what their teams could deliver themselves if the workloads remained on premises.
However, native security capabilities and features vary across public cloud providers. Three key factors can ensure a smooth transition to the cloud and influence public cloud provider selection: breadth and depth of native security features, unified configuration and management, and aggressive roadmaps.
Forrester researched, analyzed, and scored seven leading public cloud providers on 37 criteria and found that Google Cloud leads the pack.
Download this Forrester Research report to learn why Google Cloud comes out on top.
DB Corp Opts For Google Cloud to Drive Transformation to Real-Time Operation
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About DB Corp
DB Corp is India’s largest newspaper publisher delivering 62 editions in four languages and selling about 62 million copies per day. The business also has an extensive online and mobile presence.
Google Cloud Result
- Reduced time to complete sales reports and updates from a week to two hours
- Delivered a single source of truth and real-time data to support decision-making
- Hindi news source material with 95 percent accuracy
Headquartered in Bhopal, India, and listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, DB Corp is India’s largest newspaper group. DB Corp publishes 62 editions in four languages and sells about 6 million newspaper copies per day. Beyond newspapers, DB Corp operates 29 radio stations, 13 portals and two mobile apps.
Like the media industry in general, DB Corp is having to adapt to readers’ increasing preference for accessing news content online – particularly on mobile devices. However, online advertising is yet to fill the gap left by the leakage of advertising revenues from print. Further disruption occurred when the Indian Government’s implemented a demonetization program in November 2016 that prompted a sharp surge in e-commerce transactions and online banking.
Facing a tsunami of change, DB Corp is developing and executing new strategies to engage consumers and build revenues. These plans include evolving from an IT-supported business to an IT enabled company, and finally to an IT-led business that complements its newspapers with online news and updates throughout the day. DB Corp is building e-commerce properties that leverage its print brands and is moving to increase advertising across its mobile services. Furthermore, the business is looking to capture information about readers and customers to tailor its publications and services more closely to their needs.
Expertise in managing large data volumes behind GCP selection
However, DB Corp’s on-premises infrastructure and traditional applications could not deliver the flexibility and agility needed to support the transition to real-time news delivery. In late 2015, DB Corp started evaluating public and private cloud services, including cloud-based application suites and platform as a service offerings. This process led the business to deploy G-Suite and start working with Google Cloud Platform (GCP). “We selected GCP due to Google’s experience in delivering cloud services, and because nobody else manages data volumes of the magnitude that they do,” says R D Bhatnagar, Chief Technology Officer, DB Corp. “We were also impressed by the fact GCP had a local team with the skills and expertise to educate us about how best to use its products.”
DB Corp is migrating its websites and key applications to GCP. The business is also upgrading its network to remove bandwidth restrictions that could impede the value provided by GCP services. The scale and scope of DB Corp’s G Suite and GCP projects has required the business to engage four partners and access technical expertise and support from Google itself. Technical and business experts from the platform as a service provider are providing monthly updates and training sessions with various groups within the organisation, including user communities and the board of directors.
The Google projects at DB Corp are driving a sharp increase in the speed, agility and performance of the business. “As a senior leader within the organisation, I see the key benefits of GCP and other technologies being lower cost; greater efficiency; and improved business continuity,” says Bhatnagar. “For example, the current data center team can be redeployed to other initiatives as the technical experts at GCP will be undertaking most of the management and maintenance tasks.
DB Corp is already making business and financial performance data available in real time from a single source, enabling business teams to make sound, consistent decisions about digital strategies and other key activities. These teams may also address issues or problems before they compromise the quality of content and services provided to consumers.
Deploying Chrome for Meetings across various offices has enabled teams to communicate and collaborate effectively in real time, breaking down geographic barriers, ensuring each member is on the same page and ensuring the business transformation proceeds smoothly. Sales teams are using Google Forms and Google Sheets to centralize and control tasks such as sales forecasting, reducing the time required to complete reports and updates from up to a week to two hours.
Furthermore, various teams are using calendars to improve organization and productivity. For example, editorial teams are using calendars to track Indian holidays and festivals and deliver relevant content to readers. Reporters are also using Google Cloud Speech API and Google Cloud Translation API services to capture and document interviews and source material for articles at accuracy rates of 95 percent for Hindi alone.
Learning Should be Your Resolution for 2022: Register for Google Cloud Skills Boost
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Start your 2022 New Year’s resolutions by learning at no cost how to use Google Cloud with the following training opportunities:
30 day access to Google Cloud Skills Boost
Register by January 31, 2022 and claim 30 days free access to Google Cloud Skills Boost to complete the Getting Started with Google Cloud learning path.
Google Cloud Skills Boost is the definitive destination for skills development where you can personalize learning paths, track progress, and validate your newly-earned expertise with skill badges.
The Getting Started with Google Cloud learning path will give you the opportunity to earn three skill badges after you complete hands-on labs and courses designed for aspiring cloud engineers and architects. It covers the fundamentals of Google Cloud including core infrastructure, big data and ML, writing gcloud commands, using Cloud Shell, deploying virtual machines, and running containerized applications on GKE.
Cloud OnBoard: half day training on getting started with Google Cloud fundamentals
Attend the Getting Started Cloud OnBoard on January 20 for a comprehensive Google Cloud orientation. Google Cloud experts will show you how to execute your compute, available storage options, how to secure your data, and available Google Cloud managed services.
Cloud Study Jam: expert-guided hands-on lab
Google Cloud experts will walk you through a hands-on lab included in Google Cloud Skill Boost’s Getting Started with Google Cloud learning path when you join our Cloud Study Jam on January 27. Google Cloud experts will also answer questions live via chat during this event.
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Operational resilience continues to be a key focus for financial services firms. Regulators from around the world are refocusing supervisory approaches on operational resilience to support the soundness of financial firms and the stability of the financial ecosystem. Our new white paper discusses the continuing importance of operational resilience to the financial services sector, and the role that a well-executed migration to Google Cloud can play in strengthening it.
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