October Edition: Top 5 Data Innovation Books for Your Reading List

Is the skill gap putting your AI strategies at risk?

According to a recent study, 93% of US and UK organisations consider AI a business priority and have projects planned or already in production. However, 51% acknowledge that they don’t have the right mix of skilled AI talent in-house to bring their strategies to life. This is one of the key barriers enterprises face to maximising their AI capabilities.?

The same can be said for other emerging technologies that are becoming critical to add a competitive edge but need to catch up during execution. From deep dives into machine learning to practical advice for data-driven decision-making, our book list offers a unique perspective on the world of data innovation and its potential.?

Data Driven: Harnessing Data and AI to Reinvent Customer Engagement

Authors: Chris O’Hara | Tom Chavez | Vivek Vaidya

A tectonic shift in the practice of marketing is underway. Digital technology, social media, and ecommerce have radically changed how consumers access information, order products, and shop for services. Using the latest technologies―cloud, mobile, social, IoT, and AI―you have more data about consumers and their needs, wants, and affinities than ever.?

In Data Driven: Harnessing Data and AI to Reinvent Customer Engagement, you will discover the three principles for building a successful data strategy and the five sources of data-driven power. Top companies put these data-driven strategies into action:

• How Pandora used second and third-hand data to learn more about its listeners.
• How Georgia-Pacific moved from scarcity to abundance in the data sphere.
• How Dunkin’ Brands leveraged CRM data as a force multiplier for customer engagement.?

If you wonder what the future holds, you will receive seven forecasts to better prepare you for what may come next. Sure to be a classic, the book is a practical road map to the modern marketing landscape and a toolkit for success amid already underway changes.

Data Driven: How Performance Analytics Delivers Extraordinary Sales Results

Author: Jenny Dearborn

Data Driven: How Performance Analytics Delivers Extraordinary Sales Results is a uniquely practical guide to increasing sales success using the power of data analytics. Written by Jenny Dearborn, this book shows how to transform the corporate sales function by leveraging big data into better decision-making, more informed strategy, and increased effectiveness throughout the organisation. Engaging and informative, this book tells the story of a newly hired sales chief under intense pressure to deliver higher performance from her team and how data analytics becomes the ultimate driver behind the sales function turnaround. Each chapter features insightful commentary and practical notes on the points the story raises. One chapter is devoted solely to laying out the Prescriptive Action Model step-by-step, giving you the actionable guidance you need to implement it in your organisation.

Predictive and prescriptive analytics is poised to change corporate sales, and companies that fail to adapt to the new realities and adopt the new practices will be left behind. This book explains why the Prescriptive Action Model is the key corporate sales weapon of the 21st Century and how you can implement this dynamic new resource to bring value to your business.

Data Science for Business: What You Need to Know about Data Mining and Data-Analytic Thinking

Authors: Foster Provost | Tom Fawcett

Written by renowned data science experts Foster Provost and Tom Fawcett, Data Science for Business introduces the fundamental principles of data science and walks you through the “data-analytic thinking” necessary for extracting useful knowledge and business value from your data collection. This guide also helps you understand the many data-mining techniques in use today.

Based on an MBA course Provost has taught at New York University over the past ten years, Data Science for Business provides examples of real-world business problems to illustrate these principles. You will learn how to improve communication between business stakeholders and data scientists and how to participate intelligently in your company’s data science projects. You will also discover how to think data analytically and fully appreciate how data science methods can support business decision-making.

Data Science for Dummies

Author: Lillian Pierson

Data science consultant Lillian Pierson shares her proprietary STAR Framework – A simple, proven process for leading profit-forming data science projects. The only process you will ever need to lead profitable data science projects Secret, reverse-engineered data monetisation tactics that no one’s talking about The shocking truth about how simple natural language processing can be How to beat the crowd of data professionals by cultivating your unique blend of data science expertise

Whether you are new to the data science field or already a decade in, you will surely learn something new and precious from Data Science For Dummies.?

Data Smart: Using Data Science to Transform Information into Insight

Author: John W. Foreman

Data Smart: Using Data Science to Transform Information into Insight is a book for those serious about learning the analytic techniques, maths and the magic behind big data.?

Each chapter will cover a different technique in a spreadsheet so you can follow along: mathematical optimisation, including non-linear programming and genetic algorithms clustering via k-means, spherical k-means, and graph modularity data mining in graphs, such as outlier detection supervised AI through logistic regression, ensemble models, and bag-of-words models forecasting seasonal adjustments, and prediction intervals through monte carlo simulation moving from spreadsheets into the R programming language.

You get your hands dirty as you work alongside John W. Foreman through each technique. But never fear; the topics are readily applicable, and the author laces humour throughout. You’ll even learn what a dead squirrel has to do with optimisation modelling, which you no doubt are dying to know.

If you do not see your book on the list but believe it should be included, please email us at [email protected].