Analytical Disruption

I will be speaking at the up & coming CIO Conference in Cardiff on 16th March - all about analytical disruption.

What is analytical disruption? How do we use our data to actually make a difference? How do we apply big data? Should we apply big data? How can we get to a more predictive model?

These are all valid questions I hear on a regular basis, but fundamentally how does any business, whether small or large, established or start-up, go on the most effective journey from simply using data for information through to identifying the real value, using it more effectively and becoming more proactive and predictive?

When companies adopt Big Data as part of their business strategy, the first question to surface is usually what type of value will Big Data drive? Will it contribute to the top or bottom line, or will there be a non-financial driver?

From a value point of view, the application of Big Data analytics falls into one of three dimensions – operational efficiency, customer experience and new business models. I will talk about some of the challenges and considerations in each of these dimensions.

I will take you on a journey - from a time when data was seen as a fragmented, untapped and painful necessity - to a place where effective insight and analytics are core to our values, principles, growth and most importantly our customers.

Harnessing the true power of data-driven insight is the holy grail of future business. A wealth of this data comes from the supply chain; but, while the information is there, companies are not yet capitalizing on its real value as a source of insight capable of shaping the future of the enterprise.

Companies are no longer restricted to running their business by ‘looking in the rearview mirror’ i.e. managing based on information that is weeks or months old.

Data mining, pattern recognition, business analytics, business intelligence - along with other tools - are coalescing into an emerging field of supply chain data science that has the potential to drive this evolution. These new, intelligent analytic capabilities are changing supply chains, from reactive operations to proactive and ultimately predictive operating models. The implications extend far beyond just reinventing the supply chain; they will help map the blueprint for the next-generation global company - the insight-driven enterprise.

But there are pitfalls, considerations, wrong turns and dead ends that need to be faced and I will talk about some of these - and how we have successfully navigated these twists and turns to create real value and a smarter enterprise through the effective use of data.