Lightcast’s mission is to unlock new possibilities in the labor market. As a global pioneer in the collection and analysis of information on the labor market, one of our guiding principles is to innovate, inside and out. We are always searching for new and better ways to do all things.
Our recent acquisition of Gazelle, the only AI business intelligence platform that ranks companies based on their likelihood to expand, provides clients with deep business intelligence to pair with vast labor market information. This pairing creates more prescriptive analytics for economic development, workforce development, and commercial real estate.
“I’m thrilled to learn that Gazelle is now part of Lightcast! Our research department has relied on both for a number of years. The unique approaches to using data and tools support talent development strategies and targeting companies primed for success. I can’t wait to see what the teams are putting together,” said Marlena M. Bandurski, Vice President of Research at Greater Des Moines Partnership.
Here are some of the exciting ways Lightcast data and Gazelle can already be used in conjunction.
Business Attraction
Using Lightcast and Gazelle together, users can understand not only the jobs and skills businesses are hiring for, but connect with businesses recruiting for those jobs right now. And using the power of AI, connect with the ones that will be recruiting in the future. With Gazelle, communities can more confidently reach out to expanding companies knowing that they have the necessary supply of talent to accommodate proposed expansion initiatives and better articulate the likelihood of success in their region. On the strategy front, economic developers can more accurately plan for the training, upskilling, and reskilling of their local talent to attract expanding companies.
“The site selection decision-making process has accelerated at an exponential rate. The impact is twofold,” says Steve Jast, Founder of Gazelle and now SVP, Strategy at Lightcast. “Firstly, it means that economic and business development professionals need to respond to RFIs with greater speed, accuracy, and agility. Particularly as it relates to workforce availability and readiness. Secondly, it has made connecting with companies engaged in the site selection process more difficult. The marriage of Gazelle and Lightcast addresses both of these key dynamics, enhancing any region’s ability to win more deals.”
Business Retention
Economic developers have a tall task: stay on top of all relevant business activity across their entire region. When adding Gazelle, Lightcast users can now prioritize outreach to local businesses based on expansion patterns and future expansion. This allows them to be proactive and discuss the local workforce needs and necessary skill development. Existing Lightcast users can not only benchmark their region based on core labor market data, but now also pair firm-level data from Gazelle that provides visibility on top employers, emerging businesses, and potential suppliers.
“Our clients are after more and better business intelligence, and they want it integrated with their labor data,” adds Josh Wright, Executive Vice President of Lightcast’s Community division. “Gazelle’s business data will provide users with the most sophisticated business information to be combined with real-time labor market data.”
Market Intelligence
Gazelle data identifies emerging industry clusters and companies in a given region, allowing economic developers to better plan for company and sector targets. This data includes business intelligence not available in any government data. Gazelle’s “real-time” information tells the growth potential of industries as opposed to more “traditional” linear regressions that provide a more retrospective look. Knowing the specific companies that are growing—locally, domestically, and internationally—Gazelle users can then layer this data with Lightcast’s job postings to see the most in-demand skills.
These are just a few of the use cases that excite us about the pairing of these two platforms. Simply put, Gazelle’s predictive growth platform and Lightcast’s labor analytics platforms align beautifully to further drive economic prosperity. The acquisition allows an even wider array of communities and governments, including in emerging economies, to find local solutions.