subject: Analytics: The art & science of better decision making [print this page] Analytics: The art & science of better decision making
For years, organizations have relied basic tools like spreadsheets, OLAP cubes, etc., as the mainstays in driving business improvement. Sheets full of columns and rows are used to predict complex, business-critical outcomes. Yet, these same tools, while necessary, are no longer sufficient: they are incapable of enterprise-size scaling, and too tedious to pore through.
Even analytics professionals who mine data for a living, know that spreadsheet, pivot tables and OLAP cubesare limiting and, in some cases, detrimental to organizations. Such one-dimensional tools deter them from their scientific roots, where they would get to experiment by formulating a problem through observation, measurement and analysis reporting. That methodology can lead to the holy grail of data-driven insights that enable better decisions. Getting there requires treating data as a strategic asset. When organizations reach that understanding, it is easy to see how successful analytics initiatives transcend tools to take into account elements such as people, process, culture and technology.Business Analyticsprovides an integrated environment that enables the collection, classification, analysis and interpretation of data to reveal patterns, anomalies, key variables and relationships. This unique and rich insight, when used in a business context, fosters better allocation of scarce resources, achievement of objectives, and accurate assessment of and preparation for future scenarios. And case studies overwhelmingly show that the use of analytics tools ensourages employees to be more creative and achieve their full potential while improving the business overall.
Having robust analytics tools viz-a-viz general spreadsheets etc. enables organizations to generate highly dynamic, multi-dimesnional reports. With Analytics, organizations are able to derive better and faster results from their efforts, and therefore improve the business overall.
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