Introducing Oxylabs’ Data Research Team

Let’s take a step back. How did Oxylabs look back in the day?

Rimgaudas: So, in September, I will mark my 4 years with Oxylabs. When I started working with Oxylabs, our resource base of IPs was close to 100k. While, presently, we have over 2M datacenter and 30M residential proxies. So, we really did grow, didn’t we? 

Editor’s note: As of 2020 we now have 100M+ residential proxies!

Back in the day, to my knowledge, we focused on researching the technicalities of the proxy world and web scraping instead of relentlessly trying to bring new customers. However, one day, we had this sudden burst of customers reaching out to us. Perhaps, it’s a classic word of mouth marketing, as we got more and more clients being referred by our existing clients.  

On the subject of my team, looking back, we really improved the way we work. Surprisingly, sometimes clients themselves are unsure about what exactly they need and how to get to the desired result. However, with our gathered know-how, we found out the most optimized ways to approach numerous data sources. We share this information with our clients, and that helps them in their daily web scraping tasks.

Can you tell us a bit more about how your team improved its operations?

Rimgaudas: For instance, in early 2016, we started to prepare tailored statistics insights for each client. We received great feedback from our clients. Oxylabs isn’t just selling proxies. We are trying to provide additional value to our customers. What’s more, we are always on hand to speak to our clients’ technical teams and share our know-how. Personally, it is one of the most satisfying things to know that we can help our clients to reach higher levels with our advice. 

Sounds cliché, but here at Oxylabs, it really is a partnership between our clients and us.

What are the most interesting challenges your team faces?

Dovile: Perhaps, the most interesting challenge is when a client is asking for information, but presently doesn’t have the whole data for us to draw accurate conclusions. Or, sometimes a client has a problem that needs to be fixed, but the actual problem isn’t defined, and we have a lack of data to work with. 

We have to dig deep and find an angle to forecast statistical predictions for our findings to be of value to the client. Hence, we coordinate with the account management team to find out as much information as possible.

Have you noticed any changes in how clients go on about web scraping? 

Dovile: One thing for sure is that we are witnessing quite a few clients shifting to our Real-Time Crawler solution (now known as Web Scraper API). This is because they need to tackle more challenging data sources with a guaranteed success rate.

Rimgaudas: What’s more, we can see that our clients’ web scraping operations have scaled drastically. They indeed invest even more time in data processing and analysis. We receive significantly more requests, and accordingly, a substantial amount of traffic is accumulated. It’s a given that they are continually growing, and I’m sure that this will only keep that way for the foreseeable future. 

So, should a client build their own data retrieval mechanisms or outsource web data collection solution?

Rimgaudas: Well, there is no one correct answer. We have various clients and they have different requirements. Some use their in-house data gathering solutions, and some outsource our tools.

Clients that have built their own data retrieval mechanism set it up as per their specific needs. So, they only need proxies to make sure they get that desired data.

Have you noticed any mistakes of our clients or new clients commonly make? 

Dovile: Well, we always get questions that we are more than happy to answer. However, everything is covered in-depth in our documentation, and mistakes could have been avoided. It’s a classic no-one likes to read manuals or instructions scenario.

Of course, inevitably, some IPs do get overused. Perhaps with the lack of web scraping knowledge. So, sometimes it is as simple as getting in touch with their account manager and ask for advice. We are always here to help.

What do our clients appreciate the most about Oxylabs?

Rimgaudas: From the feedback that I’ve heard, it is the additional value that we try to provide to our clients. That being, support working during weekends, our in-depth statistical analysis or account managers traveling directly to our clients for catch-ups. Basically, that human factor that we strive to excel in. It doesn’t go unnoticed by our clients, which is really pleasant to hear.

It’s a wrap