IT Infrastructure Insights

AI Hackathon Finals

Feb 27, 2020

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When we set out to do a “hackathon” we had no idea what to expect. Let’s just say the participants in the hackathon were more impressive than we could have ever imagined.

This past weekend, the final three teams presented their solution to our panel of judges. The difference between first and second place was a singular point. Our first presenter was !False (pronounced Not False). Their product was named a.l.f.r.e.d. (Automatic Language & Fabrication of Reports for Email Delivery). The team walked through the development of their solution while also demonstrating its ability to pull data from the database, process it, and place it into sections that are available for distribution to clients. They then proceeded to send a test email to Visual One CTO, Van Symons, to prove deliverability and function.

The next presenters were Sybil, named after the word meaning prophetess. Their presentation began with an animated video detailing the problem that they were seeking to solve (it was great). Team Sybil wanted to be sure that while the data was pulled from the database, the emails still had a level of customization that would allow for editing. This format would allow for a reduction in email time while allowing the customization. They were also able to send a test email to Visual One CTO, Van Symons, proving deliverability and function.

Team VAST was the last team to present. If the stress of delivering their solution and competing for $2,000 was not enough they also had a team member who was returning from out of town and forced to make the drive from the airport straight to the presentation with no time in between. Their solution was coded directly into the tool that allowed them to pull the data and have an email ready in their inbox with charts and statistics directly from the database. The email was delivered in an easy to read and understand format that allowed clients to understand the current status of their environment.

Before departing to make a decision, Van spoke on how motivated and excited he was after seeing the presentation. Van evoked how appreciative he was of their hard work and how they have sparked inspiration from their diligence and excitement. After a 20 minute deliberation, the judges proceeded into the presentation hall for final deliberations. The winning team won by a single point difference from the 2nd place team. The winner of our first annual Visual One AI Hackathon was…!False. Congratulations to them and thank you to the rest of the teams who participated. We look forward to the next time!