”There is a magic in graphs. The profile of a curve reveals in a flash a whole situation — the life history of an epidemic, a panic, or an era of prosperity. The curve informs the mind, awakens mojaapteka24 the imagination, convinces.”- Henry D. Hubbard, National Bureau of Standards, Washington DC
The prerequisite of data analysis is indispensable before taking an informed decision. Businesses are embracing the movement of Data analytics to take smarter decisions. None of the business domains have been left untouched by data analytics in the second decade of 21st century. Data analytics help HR managers to use employee information related to their educational history, work experience, performance in their previous jobs, short term & long terms goals which can be deployed to make decision for recruitments. Marketers leverage data to gauge customer satisfaction, consumer insights, digital interaction etc. Effective use of data helps finance professionals to do risk analysis, make investment strategies. In a way Data analytics has revolutionised the way business is done. The data analytics drive the smarter decision making and increase the chance of business success. It helps business executives to make decisions on the basis of facts and figures over their tastes and preferences. This practice of data analytics is the art of structured thinking and analysing.
The market is very volatile, so Data analytics itself serves as a tool which helps in the prediction of the market. Data analytics help businesses to mitigate business risks, not on the basis of intuition but on the basis of underlying data. The array of data helps in identifying Key Risk Indicators (KRI) of any initiative taken. By crunching data, frauds can be detected and one can look forward to think- What will happen next?
In this era of information abundance, useful information allows data analysts and business users to get insights from the data which is useful for taking business decision. First, data help to extract the insights. Second, it substantiates the decision which has been taken and makes that decision more measurable. According to SAP report, “77% companies say that information makes an important contribution to customer support.” Through data Analytics Businesses get insights about the consumer specific preferences and they can understand their customers better in this dynamic world.
A report of Ivey business journal says, “A 2013 survey found -67% of respondents reporting that their companies are gaining a competitive advantage from the use of analytics, the usage of data analytics is up from 58% in 2012 to 37% in 2010.”A company gets the competitive advantage by smartly using the data. Earlier Dell business model was configure-to-order (CTO); the customised PC was assembled and shipped. In 2007, when Dell decided to expand its channel, they accessed their huge records of customer purchase and preferences over the time. Dell evaluated those records and developed a product line for their business. (Source: Ivey Business Journal). Such is the relevance of data analytics!
Raw data is huge in form of surveys, social media, videos, customer feedback etc. The task is to draw inference from this huge data to generate required information. Most of the companies are putting emphasis on data analysis because it has the potential to create a competitive advantage. The purpose of data analytics should be to identify the right tools to gain the insights of the data which is relevant and appropriate so that it does not become cost centre to the business. For coming years the corporate world is looking for executives who can analyse the data to create strategy and mission for the business.
The Blog has been written by Priyanka Singh, Student, FIIB
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