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While Elance,  AngelList and Visual.ly may have paved the way for the cloud-based marketplace for technical skills, and where BA’s and data visualization scientists might be looking for consulting projects, Harvard Innovation Labs, in agile fashion, has opened a marketplace for a specialized use, the “big data/analytics/BI” specialist.

As the real-world marketplace jockeys back and fort between self-serve, open source, and targeted offerings, there is no question that expertise in Big Data and Data Visualization are missing elements: hard to shop for, and hard to find except in concentrated geographic locations. Perhaps Harvard Innovation Lab’s offering will both fill the gap and inspire more people to dig into one of the fields in their list.

Individuals and consulting firms may both apply, though they seem to be treated equally, as the application has one format, and, additionally suggests adding a video pitch to increase appeal to potential clients/partners.

This isn’t a completely automated process for getting on their list: without outlining the criteria to be used behind the scenes for approval, they do mention there is a delay between signing up and appearing on their roster. One would assume the vetting process is being done by people working behind the scenes, rather than algorithms and artificial intelligence alone.

The site has been open for only a few weeks, and it will be interesting to see what their marketing approach will be. Considering they have added data visualization to the skills listed, there’s a potential supply of visual content to show off the skills of the participating consultants, based on the limits of non-disclosure agreements and IP/copyright issues.

Experfy screen shot

Experfy landing page screen

Here is a recent post by Experfy looking for experts to join their list:

[hero]”Experfy is a consulting marketplace where enterprises engage experts for their big data, analytics and business intelligence projects. We are looking for experts to join our data community. Hourly rates for projects range from $40 to $200 per hour, depending on one’s background and domain expertise. Each data expert must go through an application process to become a provider on Experfy. Anyone with a mastery in at least one unique skill-set needed in a project lifecycle from data planning, management and integration to discovery, analysis, reporting and data visualization can become a consultant on Experfy. Data experts on Experfy come from wide range of professional and academic backgrounds: Data Engineers, Data Scientists, Data Mining Experts, Predictive Analyst/Modelers, Optimization and Testing Experts, Big Data Solutions Architects, DBAs, Visualization and Reporting Designers, Statisticians, Applied Physicists, Mathematicians, Econometricians and Bioinformaticians. Graduate students are also welcome to apply as long as they can show that they have the required training and know the tools. What is in it for you as a provider of services? You get to work on intellectually challenging problems for the world’s most prestigious companies. If you fit this profile, please check out the Experfy platform. “[/hero]