Business Reasons for Analytics

It’s not what you know. It’s what you do with what you know. This is something organisations worldwide are increasingly learning when it comes to how they are approaching and working with data and analytics today.

Customer’s expectations have changed. Providing a good product is simply not enough for today’s businesses. The majority demand a fantastic and seamless experience from the delivery of products and services to how a customer interacts with the brand. Customers are now dictating the rules and what is expected, and they have the ability to quickly choose new suppliers if they don’t get what they want.

Some of the key business influencers are already predicting that 2017 will mark an even more meaningful shift when it comes to utilising data in business. Data will drive business direction rather than simply reflecting performance. Most organizations today, now understand that if they capture all the data that streams into their businesses, they can apply analytics and garner significant value from it. The benefits that big data analytics is already bringing to businesses are speed and efficiency. Whereas a few years ago a business would have gathered information, run analytics and unearthed information that could be used for future decisions, today that business can identify insights for immediate decisions.

We are already witnessing that the real leaders are the organisations with the ability to respond to customers with personalized, contextually relevant offers and communications in real time, using insights not only based on their in-the-moment activity, but also past behaviours. They are reinventing and re-imaging customer journeys to increase client satisfaction, sales and service productivity, while automating processes to reduce operational costs and drive standardization. These organisations are identifying sub-optimal channel/cross-channel processes that lead to complaints/attrition and increased costs, while fixing them quickly. They are driving enhanced loyalty and customer engagement via improved focus on managing and measuring customer satisfaction and retention

Data and Analytics: Giving Organizations a Competitive Edge

Organisations today are under increasing competitive pressure not only to acquire customers, but also understand their customers’ needs and wants in order to optimize the customer experience and develop long term relationships. Customers are increasingly using multiple channels in their interactions with companies and both traditional and digital data sources must be brought together to understand customers’ behaviours and needs.

Effective data management and analytics can help organisations stay competitive when demand changes or new technology is developed. Core to effective brand building are distinguishable products that will help attract customers and maintain loyalty. Applying analytics for designing, controlling the process and optimizing business operations in the production of goods or services ensures efficiency and effectiveness to fulfil customer expectations and achieve operational excellence. Advanced analytical techniques can be deployed to improve field operations productivity and efficiency as well as optimize an organisational workforce according to business needs and customer demand.

Optimum utilisation of data and analytics can also ensure that continuous improvements are instigated on an on-going basis as a result of end-to-end view and measurement of key operational metrics.

Analytics are Helping to Deliver a Secure Environment and Guarantee Business Continuity

In an age where the market is overcrowded with information exchange from numerous sources and devices, keeping the organisational network secure and free from potential attack or exposure is paramount for business success and efficiency. Effective deterrence requires mechanisms that allow companies to quickly detect potentially fraudulent activity identify and trace perpetrators and anticipate future activity.

Big data and analytics are some of the most effective defences against cyber intrusions. Better, faster, actionable security information reduces the critical time from detection to remediation, enabling cyber warfare specialists to proactively defend and protect an organisation’s network. Efficient data and analytics capabilities can deliver best-in-class organisational security and fraud prevention. Use of statistical, network, path, and big data methodologies for more predictive fraud propensity models and alerts will ensure timely responses. Data management, efficient, and transparent reporting of fraud incidents will result in improved fraud risk management processes. Furthermore, integration and correlation of data across the enterprise can offer a unified view of the fraud across various lines of business, products, and transactions.

Big Data Analytics: Creating Smarter Businesses for a Better Future

According to the Harvard Business Review, the majority of today’s organisations are not even close to recognizing the value analytics can bring. Today, every organisation is depending on data; from big multinationals to small business alike. Whatsmore, forward thinking individuals are using this data to formulate better strategies for the future of their companies and CIOs are increasingly seeing an opportunity for using data and analytics to empower users, enlighten their organisations, as well as convert IT from a cost centre to a source of competitive advantage.