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Even business intelligence firms can learn a thing or two about doing business in the digital era. Just ask Bowman & Partners, a Roanoke, Texas-based startup that mines a wealth of brand and consumer data to create customer management strategies and marketing initiatives for clients that include Comcast Business, United Healthcare and Windstream Communications.

Like many businesses, Bowman & Partners has shifted much of its workload to the cloud, and when principal Paul Bowman began chasing a contract with a major healthcare firm, he proposed a cloud-based dashboard to gather information straight from the company's call centers, offering insights into medical activity and patient trends from across the country.