3 Things Holding Back People Analytics and Technology Isn't One of Them? Really.

This brief HBR piece, 3 Things Holding Back Your Analytics and Technology Isn't One of Them, is pretty decent : https://hbr.org/2017/06/3-things-are-holding-back-your-analytics-and-technology-isnt-one-of-them

The way it isn't true

The headline is intentional dramatic. I wouldn't quite go as far as to apply the headline universally - clearly technology may be what is holding you back if don't have any in place at all or you have some parts of technology necessary, but not all. Each possible constraint must be assessed within context and the constraint moves once a component of the equation has been solved.

However, I think the underlying issues described, as a warning, put into context is correct. It is a multi-faceted problem that requires you solve for the structure, composition and location of your analytics group and the technology to support that - simultaneously. As you work on, or observe variation in the structure, composition and location of its analytics groups you can see we are working on a multi-faceted system problem. (using system's broader non-technology meaning)

The way it is true

Technology doesn't matter as much as we are lead to believe in the sense that it won't solve the problems we have automatically on its own - as the sales people of those technologies would most like us believe. :-) It also depends on where you focus your analytics and the quality of expertise applied to its use, which encompasses the weaving together into a single team depths of expertise in :

• problem / business focus, 
• applicable sciences (individual and group behavior as necessary in my problem focus),
• applied statistics,
• & technology (to apply these concepts at speed and scale).

Technology ultimately plays out its greatest purpose in increasing the efficiency of delivery and then in enhancing our capability to achieve more, but does not help us to the degree necessary to provide for the elimination of the others.