Analytics- a buzzword or something more?

Analytics isn't a term that's new. It's all about maximizing and minimizing under a given set of constraints so as to get a mathematical result. This has been done for ages. What has changed then, one may ask. The answer to that is the amount of data! This is growing exponentially and along with increasing computing power, organizations are now able to crunch this data so as to make sense of it.

Today, a vast majority claim they do analytics. They aren't wrong at all. A pivot table on excel is analytics, a beautiful graphical summary of a million data points is analytics, looking at at past trends to predict what will happen next is analytics, drilling down to a granular level to find reasons responsible is analytics. You have analytics, you have more data and now more computing power as well. Where does the problem lie then ? The problem lies in our definition of analytics.

The new definition should be - maximizing and minimizing under a given set of constraints so as to get quantifiable value. This means the focus should not just be on getting an outcome, but an outcome that adds business value. This is what sets organizations apart. The ability to confidently say:

" Sales will be up by 25% in the next quarter, lets increase production to meet demand and reduce wait times."

"We reduced the occurrence of sepsis by 14% and mortality by 30%."

"We increased our top line by 12% and lowered our marketing costs by 20%."

"This is the optimum route to take so as to minimize drive time and maximize fuel efficiency."

The examples are countless as each industry has its own unique metrics along with the generics.

If you're doing analytics, do it the right way! It's not about the number of key performance indicators monitored, it's not about the number of fancy graphs and statistics, it's not about saying we have a team that builds models; it's about getting quantifiable value from these exercises which tailor the way you do business, it's about knowing the effort put in is not in vain because the math says otherwise and lastly, its about making the right business decisions today so as to reap its benefits tomorrow.

"Not only did I run a forecast, it was 95% accurate ! "