Your roadmap to improving reporting and data analytics

Your roadmap to improving reporting and data analyticsHow to increase reporting and querying functionality available to all end-users All custom software and software packages come with reporting functionality. That functionality is almost always sufficient to launch the application successfully. Soon after launching, the world changes because successful applications grow in terms of: The number of concurrent, active end-users. The total number of…

The gaping chasm between Data Science and Information Systems

The gaping chasm between Data Science and Information SystemsLike watching two vastly different galaxies collide As data science has grown in importance, it has increasingly encountered the Information Systems (IS) department. Observing these encounters in some organizations is like watching two vastly different galaxies collide. There are many loud explosions, fierce disagreements, blinding thunderbolt flashes and a lot of misunderstanding. What is the…

Developing a winning Business Intelligence strategy

Developing a winning Business Intelligence strategyHow to avoid being associated with a project that turns into a quagmire The novelty has worn off Business Intelligence (BI) as it expanded over the years into many organizations. BI is no longer some Skunk Works adventure that runs independently of the formal organization with little or no oversight beyond nominal executive-level sponsorship. BI…

Data analytics adds significant business value

But you must follow these best practices

Data analytics adds significant business valueData analytics is receiving vast amounts of attention in the trade press, on many websites and at conferences. References are even spilling into the mainstream media. Can data analytics add business value to your organization? This topic is worth discussing in more depth because much of the literature talks about the value of improved decision-making.…

Analytics becoming the new normal in business

My list of analytics trends that will produce more value for your organization

Analytics becoming the new normal in businessEvery year software vendors, market analysts and various IT pundits provide their lists of analytics trends. Here’s my list of analytics trends with ways to produce more value for your organization. Analytics concepts have been growing and maturing for a long time. Depending on how far back you want to look, William Playfair published the…

Analytics destroying baseball’s entertainment value

Fans left with an increasingly boring game

Analytics destroying baseball’s entertainment valueI don’t hate baseball analytics or their use by crafty baseball operations folks. I look at analytics gurus like Billy Beane, Theo Epstein and Andrew Friedman as smart guys who figured out how to exploit market inefficiencies in the game. But they’ve also inadvertently damaged the game as a fan experience and entertainment product. There’s…

Big data is useless without visual analytics

Having trouble spotting trends in endless spreadsheets? Visual analytic tools can help

Big data is useless without visual analyticsWith its vast volumes, big data is useless without the analytic and presentation functionality of visual analytical tools. Think how difficult it is to spot anomalies or trends in endless rows of spreadsheet data. Visual analytic tools solve that overload problem. Big data is an in-vogue topic in the information technology world. Many executives see…

Is big data success eluding you?

Are your big data scientists running amuck?

Is big data success eluding you?Some organizations think that big data can only produce significant business benefits if delivered through big projects that require big investments and include big risks. Nothing could be further from the truth. Here’s a look at how to respond to the frequently-discussed issues that create avoidable anxiety and cause big data success to elude you.…

Build a customer persona to drive online traffic

Put yourself in the shoes of your customers, with the help of analytic tools and surveys, in order to market to them correctly

Build a customer persona to drive online trafficBuilding an online audience takes time. And as you start to grow online and engage with your audience more and more, you will need to build a customer persona. When you create a customer persona, you’re putting yourself in the shoes of your customer. You’re learning about their habits, behaviours and interests. Once you figure…