Cotality has been undergoing something of a transformation. Until very recently, the organisation was known as CoreLogic. The name change reflects the evolution of becoming a data-driven technology company. Now, it has a stronger focus on unifying the property ecosystem through a first-of-its-kind platform, Araya. As an information services leader, Cotality seamlessly integrates data, technology, artificial intelligence, insights, and people across the property ecosystem.
John Rogers is the Chief Data and Analytics Officer for Cotality. In his role, he has the privilege of looking after nearly 300 information-hungry data gurus and data scientists. He and his team are responsible for Cotality’s 21st century data and AI manufacturing plant, Araya, on all things property and location. Leveraging 22,000 data sources about property, they assemble that information, integrate it, and utilise Google Cloud Platform to its fullest.
Cotality’s seven-year (and counting) deal with Google has allowed it to build the best view of any given property. This allows it to power all markets. “Google has been investing in AI and machine learning for over two decades with the intent of improving how we live and work. Cotality’s innovative use of Google Cloud brings this vision to life. We’re proud to enable Cotality to drive meaningful change globally by making the property industry faster, smarter, and more people-centric,” says Massimo Mascaro, Distinguished Technical Director, Applied AI at Google.
Imagining new possibilities through data
The core project Rogers has been driving has been the development of Araya. This is something that is deeply important to the US real estate landscape. It’s an enormous venture, and one which supports the largest asset class in the world.
“In the US alone, if you added up the value of all the homes, it’s equivalent to around $50 trillion,” Matt Kjernes, CTO Cotality, explains. “For you and I, purchasing a home is a major life event. So when our clients are making financial decisions, we want to be able to give them the best data and insights. That’s why we invested so much in pulling together all these different data inputs.”
Battling the impact of climate disasters
The power of the data Cotality is able to mine runs deep. Recently, Los Angeles experienced devastating wildfires. Across the city, 12,000 homes were completely destroyed, with a reconstruction cost of over $30 billion. Lives and livelihoods were lost, and events such as these will, sadly, continue to happen. However, Cotality is in a position where it has been able to help support those affected, while using its data for good.
Not only has Cotality provided financial aid for impacted homeowners and found temporary housing for them, but it has been using its gathered information to drive the insurance claims process in order to restore homes and businesses.
“We help federal, state, local agencies, charities, banks, insurers, utilities, retailers, and even nursing homes,” says Rogers. “We support everything from helping the impacted homeowner, all the way through to understanding P&L impacts to companies. Now, the attention has turned to how we rebuild these areas in a more resilient fashion.