ACADEMICS at Strathclyde University are to assist accountancy and business advisory firm Deloitte in data mining.

Their focus will be on companies with complex asset bases such as energy and utility firms.

The two organisations believe that by interrogating trends and patterns they can help to extend the lifespan of assets such as offshore wind farms, which rely on information to work efficiently, profitably and safely.

Matthew Revie of University of Strathclyde Business School said: "Scottish organisations collect vast amounts of data, but many miss the opportunity to turn this data into added value.

"Our new partnership will help companies analyse and utilise their data in a wide range of ways, from automating maintenance on offshore wind farms to managing complex supply chains, all the way through to predicting customer behaviour."

Strathclyde's clients will also be able to use Deloitte to help implement measures suggested by its analysis.

Dougie McAndrew, who leads Deloitte's analytics business in Scotland, said: "By better understanding patterns and trends in data, it is possible to predict the behaviour of assets, customers and markets in a way that can really put companies ahead."