In response to the AI revolution All Analytics is launching the 2017 A2 Academy, AI: How It Impact
If you're just getting started with analytics, you can avoid a lot of headaches by learning from the experts. We've tapped a few who have great practical advice.
In today's fast-paced economy, businesses need access to insights faster than before. While periodic reporting still has its place, organizations are looking for deeper and more timely insights that can help them make better decisions, cut costs, improve efficiencies, reduce risks and drive more revenue.
It's pretty obvious from all the hype around the topic that many powerful things can be done with analytics, but it isn't always obvious where one should begin. We asked some experts -- they or their firms presented in the Data & Analytics Track at Interop ITX this month -- where they thought businesses should start, and here's what they had to say.
Some organizations spend too much time trying to get everything in a perfect state before using analytics, which wastes valuable time and overcomplicates what could be a simple beginning. The best way to start is to choose a project that has the potential to demonstrate value without requiring a lot of extra work or heavy investment.
"When we build something that returns value to the organization right away, people start buying in because they see the ROI and the other types of value it provides like efficiencies in the workforce, short time to solution or short time to value," said Kirk Borne, principal data scientist at Booz Allen Hamilton. "It can be something simple."
For example, a financial services company managed to save $1 billion simply by analyzing web clicks, Borne said.
"They already had web analytics in place. They just needed to pay attention to what the signals were telling them," said Borne. "It doesn't have to be a complicated model or involve complicated data to prove value."
Analytics can begin at any level in an organization, whether it's an executive who wants an answer a strategic question or a line of business manager or staff member who needs to solve a tactical problem.
Five years ago, the Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) assigned data analytics as a part-time job to its current director of data analytics and another employee. The association had been sending members periodic reports, but as the volume of data grew, it became obvious ASPPH could provide more value to its members with analytics.
