Where can data drive insight and value?

The goals for today’s data analytics have shifted from looking behind to seeing ahead to get a clearer and more complete view of what is happening in businesses. As organization implement big data analytics strategies they are also embracing a distributed data model that places visualization tools and discovery in the hands of individual business units allowing users to explore a wide range of associations between datasets. The results are huge productivity savings and keener insights.

With big data analytics solutions, business executives are already taking steps to use data to enhance decision making and performance. Where can data value be discovered? There are endless possibilities, but here are just a few areas where opportunity can be found:

·      In analyzing and segmenting customers,

·      In targeting customers,

·      By increasing conversion rates and revenue,

·      By managing pipelines and forecasts,

·      In adjust pricing strategies to align with market shifts,

·      In tracking consumer sentiment,

·      By reducing risks and costs,

·      In evaluating suppliers’ performance against terms, targets and service-level agreements,

·      By analyzing warranty and returns trends,

·      In identifying process and product quality issues,

·      By optimizing inventories and supply chains.

Even though you think you know what's in your data, you rarely do get the full picture. However, big data analytics stands ready to take this to a level you've never dreamed of and make connections you've not yet imagined, or thought possible. Discovering new insights and asking new questions of your data is now possible. Happy hunting.

Steve Doherty is the Chief Operating Officer at Big data Masters, LLC. He is also a retired United States Air Force officer and aviator, research scientist, telecom engineer, independent writer, and the author of two World War II thrillers. He lives in New Albany, Ohio, and can be contacted at [email protected].