Data science news

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Data Visualization Software Can Grow Any Business

The key to any businesses success is the ability to identify and act on fresh leads consistently over time. Using data visualization software can help solve the age old question of how to keep the flow of customers constant and growing. The solution is often found within the data the business already generates.

The problem facing small entrepreneurs and big businesses alike is taking the data generated from all its various sources (employees, vendors and customers) and harnessing it into a sales tool. Once a business has a better understanding of its current customer base and administrative structures, identifying new opportunities and trimming waste is an easy process.

Predictive data analytics is saving lives and taxpayer dollars in New York City

According to Flowers (director of analytics for the Office of Mayor of New York City), applying predictive data analytics towards “preemptive government” in New York City has resulted in:

• A five-fold return on the time of building inspectors looking for illegal apartments

• An increase in the rate of detection for dangerous buildings that are highly likely to result in firefighter injury or death

• More than doubling the hit rate for discovering stores selling bootlegged cigarettes

• A five-fold increase in the detection of business licenses being flipped

• Fighting the prescription drug epidemic through detection of the 21 pharmacies (out of an  estimated total of 2,150 in NYC) that accounted for more than 60% of total Medicaid  reimbursements for Oxycodone in the city.

Putting predictive analytics to work

Perez’s(Anthony Perez, director of business strategy for the National Basketball Association franchise.) team began by using analytic models to predict which games would oversell and which would undersell. The box office then took that information and adjusted prices to maximize attendance — and profits. “This season we had the largest ticket revenue in the history of our franchise, and we played only 34 games of the 45-game  season due to the lockout,” he says.

P&G uses predictive analytics for everything from projecting the growth of markets and market shares to predicting when manufacturing equipment will fail, and it uses visualization to help executives see which events are normal business variations and which require intervention. “We focus the business on what really matters,” Says Guy Peri, director of business intelligence for P&G’s Global Business Services.

The Big Data Revolution unfolds now… 

Big Data has suddenly caught everyone’s attention which in turn has made it one of the hottest debated topics nowadays in the enterprise computing circle. The need to unshackle this huge treasure trove is now beginning to dawn upon every CIO and they are realizing the significance of how it can bring in business efficiency and value.

The Data conundrum is giving rise to Analytics

How To Create Business Value with Analytics

MIT Sloan Management Review indicates that 58% of the 4,500 respondents (business executives, managers and analysts) say that their companies gain competitive value as a result of data analytics. The more competitive organizations are experienced in analytics and go far beyond its traditional baseline use. Their leaders use analytics to guide strategic and tactical decision making.

They are adept at deploying analytics tools (software for data visualization, modeling, mining, and analysis) that promote the use of data. The article suggests that organizations supporting and practicing analytics of all this data are more competitive than companies that don’t use data analytics in their day-to-day operations.

Big Data interest growing among SMEs

A new poll done on behalf of SAP finds that small and midsize enterprises (SMEs) are realizing the competitive advantages of using and managing “big data” faster than their larger competitors.

Top competitive advantages gained by using big data include more efficient business operations (59%); boosting sales (54%); lowering IT costs (50%); becoming more agile (48%); and attracting and retaining customers (46%). In large part because of these advantages, 70% of those surveyed said they would expect a return on their big data investments within one year.