Insights

In my late teens, I was a huge fan of "Choose Your Own Adventure" books. I especially liked the ones that came out for identifiable franchises like "Indiana Jones" because I knew the motivations of the characters and I had already seen Indiana Jones play out scenarios where he won – based on the films. But just in case, I always kept my finger on the page where I had to make my choice in case my decision was a poor one – and...

I have been in forums and discussions where people interchange the terms “Analytics” and “Business Intelligence (BI)” as if they were the same. Sometimes I feel it is even acceptable to do so. Also, I have noted they prefer to use the term “Analytics” (when referring to BI) since it is a buzzword and sounds chic, perhaps. In fairness, drawing the line between Business Intelligence and Business Analytics...

We live in a data-driven world, and the best way to be effective as a human is to make goals, set up a timeline and find a source of accountability to push you to hitting your deadlines and accomplishing your goals. As someone who tries to make the most out of every minute of a work day, I want to share how I use data for more than measuring my success in business. I use data to measure success in life. Work Smarter AND Harder Managing...

The vision of a planet-wide optimization The year was 1961. Computers were still in their infancy, and the race to the moon was just beginning. Edward Lorenz, an MIT meteorologist, was developing a weather-prediction model. Lorenz theorized that a minuscule occurrence, such as a tiny butterfly flapping its wings in the Amazon, could hypothetically set in motion a chain of events that could cause tornadoes to touch down in Texas a few days...

Human Resources feels pressure to begin using predictive analytics Today’s business executives are increasingly applying pressure to their Human Resources departments to “use predictive analytics”. This pressure isn’t unique to Human Resources as these same business leaders are similarly pressuring Sales, Customer Service, IT, Finance and every other line of business (LOB) leader, to do something predictive or...

Let's take a look at the top strategic Internet of Things (IoT) technology trends that Gartner, Inc. recently identified as driving digital business innovation from 2018 through 2023. “The IoT will continue to deliver new opportunities for digital business innovation for the next decade, many of which will be enabled by new or improved technologies,” said Nick Jones, research vice president at Gartner. “CIOs who master...

We have seen a great deal of buzz surrounding HR analytics in the last couple of years. There have been publications across the globe covering lessons learned in HR analytics initiatives. After reading much of this content, a few observations stand out. First, getting from analyzing people data to achieving tangible results for your organization is a difficult thing to achieve. There are many initiatives in HR analytics, but when it comes...

A shrinking pool of qualified candidates surfaced as a top business risk for global executives in risk, audit, finance, and compliance, according to a recent survey by Gartner, Inc. In a time of historically low unemployment where the supply of available workers is much lower, organizations are struggling to find and retain the talent they need to meet their strategic objectives. At No. 3, behind accelerating privacy regulation and cloud...

In banks and financial institutions, there is a typical barrier that exists between Finance and Risk. The Finance world is very “exact”. A balance sheet or a Profit and Loss (P&L) statement have to be very precise. In the Risk Management world, things are slightly different. It is common that numbers are created as a result from statistical analysis or stochastic simulations; recipes vary in order to create those numbers....

The approach of making government decisions based on the collected information is not a new idea. It can be dated back to the age when data was not stored electronically. Traditionally, data is isolated in different organization silos. Government organizations have collected and managed data only to serve their own business interests and to support internal reporting needs. As a result of this culture, extracting intelligence from the data...

(Content sponsored by Open Data Science, LLC) Open Data Science, LLC will bring their popular applied data science and artificial intelligence conference, ODSC West 2018 , to San Francisco this October 31 to November 3. At this event, attendees will learn about the latest insights and tools and topics in artificial intelligence and data science, how to apply these skill to their work, and hear from some of the brightest minds in the...

There are lots of analysts. Few good ones – and excellent ones are like hens teeth. Analysts are the interface between data and action – the insight of the organization. They are important. They can change your strategy. They can leverage and exploit your big data into smart data. They transform data to insight and let you take evidence-based action. The most cited gripe I hear about analysts working in the industry is " so...