Using Analytics More And More

The team of business analysts come from various backgrounds. Business analytics will be used to gather data. This data will include, demographics,

The ability to compete on analytics is made possible by certain qualities some companies possess which allows them to collect and use immense amounts of data in a way that differentiates the success and practices of those companies amongst any other businesses. Davenport and Harris (2007) define analytics as “extensive use of data, statistical and quantitative analysis, explanatory and predictive models, and fact-based management to drive decisions and actions” (p. 7). Therefore, to be able to compete on analytics, a firm must not only use the data to extrapolate and execute strategies and models in order to drive business, but also to use that data better and smarter than their competitors. This requires forward thinking and continual developments of current analyses and practices. With regard to Davenport and Harris’s criteria and concepts on the ability to compete on analytics, Old Navy LLC’s practices will be analyzed to find whether the company is able to compete, is a competitor, and how it competes, if at all.

Avinash Kaushik’s 10/90 rule states that for every $10 you spend on a web analytics tool, you should be spending $90 on the people to analyze the numbers i.e. a company spending $50k on any paid solution, such as Adobe (Omniture) and Coremetrics, should be spending $450k on a team of web analysts to analyze and gain valuable insights, considering that a web analyst’s typical daily/weekly role is split into the following categories:

As a corporate executive of a banking institution, the first step to deciding on implementing a data-mining program should be to identify the goal of the data-mining program. The goal could be to determine the potential value of a customer, or to selling the right plan to the right customer at the right time, etc.… It is also important to determine the commercial value of such goal, or how will the bank benefit from it. With clear and reasonable incentives, the executive can then examine the relevant data and/or how to collect relevant data. Keeping in mind the discussion of ethical considerations before consumers gets irritated and turns away from the institution. More importantly, the executive should strictly abide the law to avoid and breach of federal restrictions.

Companies recognize that acquiring a new customer can cost thousands of dollars. Therefore, to optimize their marketing spend, businesses are searching for answers within analytics to drive their customer acquisition strategies.

Generally, the company views federal regulations as a good thing as the driver of analytics projects. One huge reporting need is the Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (CCAR). This review is required by the Federal Reserve from all banks operating in the United States. CCAR makes sure that a bank has liquidity and capital reserves to pass an economic and financial collapse, in an event one occurs. Lots of data mining, gathering and reporting has to be done as part of this test. CCAR also makes sure that the bank does consistent reporting on all of its business units, and forces a bank to make consistent use of data

* IDS embedded analysts within the business units, each dedicated to working alongside leaders and managers of a particular team on a daily basis. In some cases, the embedded IDS analyst was a member of the business unit’s leadership team.

As a large, multi-national financial institution, BAC / ML is at the forefront of the analytical revolution. In an interview with PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) , Brian Moynihan discusses how technology can improve operational efficiency. This is a point that Davenport & Harris make in “Competing on Analytics” - that in today’s market, efficient and effective execution are one of the strategies that can pay off in separating a company from its competition. Mr. Moynihan further speaks to how big data analysis is one of the tools that can provide the intelligence needed to achieve some of their strategic goals. As one of the world’s largest banks, BAC/ML certainly has the funds and resources to bring this intelligence to bear - provided that

I was working as an intern at a company called Project Management Institute (PMI) for six months and have learned some useful and interesting knowledge about analytics. Taking this class and doing this assignment help me understand more about how productive and effective PMI is to compete on analytics. PMI is the world’s largest not-for-profit membership association for the project management profession. PMI’s worldwide support for project management is supported by globally recognized standards and certification program, extensive academic and marker research programs, chapters and communities of practice, and professional development opportunities.

Our market consists of domestic and international higher education institutions that have a desire to strategically grow their program and course offerings through online development. Upon inception we specialized in online program management, but over the years we have grown to become a full service partner that also offers fee for service opportunities to those institutions that might not fit our defined target market. I would consider us 95% a service organization that has begun to experiment and expand into learning management toolsets. A typical client receives: marketing, recruitment, and learning management services.

fortunate they provide their services around the globe, including places like the United Arab Emirates and Australia. To compete on analytics, they mainly use customer relationship management. As a member of the team, I frequently look to SalesForce to see the newest numbers and maintain the relationships I have created. There are many more approaches to using analytics that enhance the operations of the company.

As Harris and Davenport mention in “Competing on Analytics”, it is extremely necessary for management to support and commit to integrating analytics in order for a company to become an analytical competitor. (Davenport and Harris, 2007) Specific to Impax, there has been a lot of recent change in management and minimal push down to incorporate analytics for better decision making. While we are capable and do utilize a fair degree of analytics in our day to day operations, unfortunately, I find its use tends to be more retroactive in nature than proactive.

Part 2. How Business Analytics can be used to gain advantage in a competitive marketplace

Analytics is the discovery and communication of meaningful patterns in data. Especially valuable in areas rich with recorded information, analytics relies on the simultaneous application of statistics, computer programming and operations research to quantify performance. Analytics often favours data visualization to communicate insight.

Colleges and universities collect massive amounts of data; more than years prior. However, a considerable amount of the data is used to meet requirements for reporting and not to answer questions or to be used in strategic planning. A 2012 study of analytics in 336 higher education institutions found that, despite the large amounts of data, the use of the data collected is greatly used for meeting report requirements (Bichsel, 2012). Analytics is defined as the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of data about learners and their behaviors and characteristics. This information is collected for purposes of gaining a greater understanding of the students and their environments (Long & Siemens, 2011).