CustomerInsights.AI powers 100% accurate incentive pay calculations with Azure

CustomerInsights.AI (CIAI) is on a mission to empower life sciences companies with innovative software solutions that offer AI-powered commercial insights based on secure data management. The company is revolutionizing pharmaceutical sales performance-based pay calculations with a results-driven application that delivers 100% accuracy and reduces operational costs by as much as 60%. By combining real-time analytics, secure Microsoft Azure infrastructure, and end-to-end transparency, the solution empowers leaders to make faster, data-driven decisions while improving sales engagement and operational efficiency.

Streamlining calculations to minimize months-long delay in payouts

The pharmaceutical sales industry is traditionally built on manual processes for intricate performance-based pay calculations. CIAI recognized that this industry was ripe for innovation. “Incentive compensation is the most critical event in a pharmaceutical company’s commercial operations because of compliance issues and the number of field representatives involved,” says Arpit Ganesan, Associate Engagement Manager at CIAI.

Pharmaceutical sales associates often face a one- to three-month delay in receiving performance-based pay from their companies. Manual calculations also limit transparency and can prompt sellers to question accuracy, requiring companies to frequently rerun their calculations. CIAI wanted a solution that would automate compensation calculations and offer sellers and leadership near-real-time insights into their expected pay—a bold venture that could transform performance pay management.

Automating incentive pay calculations to boost accuracy and transparency

CIAI embarked on a multistage journey to create an application that offers customers an automated end-to-end solution to manage these complex calculations. As an existing Microsoft customer, CIAI valued the secure and scalable services available on Azure and wanted its new application to bring those same benefits to its customers. The company decided to build its incentive compensation (IC) app on Azure, relying on data services like Azure SQL and Azure Synapse Analytics to securely unify and scale its data estate.

“Handling pharmaceutical data demands rigorous security and compliance to preserve accuracy and confidentiality,” says Ganesan. “With Microsoft Azure scalable data services, we confidently deliver a secure, compliant foundation that powers AI-driven insights for our customers.”

The company developed its custom application using Azure AI Foundry and relied on Azure Machine Learning to automate intricate calculations at an individual level, carry out precise data validation, and design predictive analytic models that flag data anomalies. These calculations populate a suite of tools that equips sales associates and team leaders with near-real-time insights into current and prospective payouts. 

Delivering 100% accuracy and operational savings of up to 60%

CIAI empowers its customers with 100% accurate, timely insights into incentive pay while reducing operational costs. The IC app cuts compensation report processing times by 70%. “Once implemented, our Azure-powered app runs seamlessly with zero manual intervention, enabling customers to achieve up to 60% savings in operational costs,” says Vishwadeep Singh, Head of Product Solutions at CIAI.

CIAI’s customers have also realized a 30% increase in seller engagement, partly driven by increased trust in the app’s calculations and the ability to adjust sales goals in real time. Customers can visualize how business rules are applied and understand their direct impact on incentive outcomes. “Before, sellers just received payout information without information about where gaps or opportunities were,” says Anuj Semwal, Senior Director of Data Science at CIAI. “With the IC app, sellers can compare their performance over time and drill down to the physician level to identify opportunities, which really engages the sales force.”

Enriching the sales experience with insights-driven AI solutions

With its passion for democratizing business insights, CIAI is already exploring how agentic AI can accelerate this transformation in performance-based pay management by making its back-end processes more intelligent and data-driven with Azure AI Foundry for AI modeling. The company’s collaboration with Microsoft has laid a strong foundation for future innovations that deliver value to CIAI’s customers. “Our collaboration with Microsoft showcases how shared innovation can deliver measurable business impact, combining Azure AI Foundry capabilities with our domain expertise to drive accuracy, transparency, and customer success,” says Singh. 

Discover more about CustomerInsights.AI on LinkedIn.