The pace of business continues to increase. And the power of big data and analytics is growing. But it’s not enough to just analyze this data anymore. According to a new TDWI Best Practices Report, sponsored by SAS, businesses also need to take action on this data. In fact, operationalized analytics may serve to keep companies competitive in today’s market.
The new white paper analyzes current strategies and future trends for embedding analytics across both organizational and technical dimensions, including organizational culture, infrastructure, data and processes.
The report covers evolving terminologies, as well as user perspectives on operationalizing and embedding analytics, as well as the biggest drivers of the practices. High on the list of reasons to pursue operationalized analytics is driving operational efficiency, optimizing business processes, increasing revenue and improving customer engagement.
And it seems many businesses have caught on and are already reaping the benefits of these practices. According to report research, about 88 percent of respondents felt that they already had or were going to operationalize and embed analytics. But the question is how are these companies making returns on their efforts and investment in this area of technology?
By far the most likely place organizations are planning to embed or operationalize analytics is dashboards. And, of course, businesses are also embedding analytics into applications. Also, as the number of smart devices continues to grow, many are embedding analytics into devices, as well – a practice which is expected to continue to gain popularity.
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So, taking action “needs to be the cornerstone for embedded and operationalizing analytics,” according to the report. But what does this action look like? According to survey respondents cited in the report, analytics actually inform action. Take a look at the analytics, and decide what action to take. A smaller percentage are actually automating analytics, where these analytics are embedded into a process that automatically takes action, like a recommendation engine on an e-commerce website.
Taking action needs to be the cornerstone for embedded and operationalizing analytics. What good is it to make analytics part of a business process if you don’t act on it?
Although the use of operationalized analytics is widespread, there are still some challenges those looking to embed analytics are running up against. And many of these are related to people and processes, not technology, according to the report. Think “not enough budget,” “lack of executive support,” and more. The report goes into detail on how to solve some of these people challenges, as well as how to tackle technical difficulties that can arise.
The report also covers data and technologies used in operationalizing analytics and explores the characteristics of today’s companies that are obtaining measurable value from analytics.
Download the full report, “Operationalizing and Embedding Analytics for Action,” courtesy of SAS, that explores how businesses can better operationalize their analytics and derive value from data.