After some very bad and well-publicized business decisions drove a subprime mortgage meltdown and the near collapse of the auto industry, many would agree that methods for enhancing decision making are greatly needed. Findings in a recent MIT Sloan special report support this notion. Senior executives want their businesses run by data-driven decisions. They want to understand optimal solutions and take action quickly; but as the authors point out, this is no small task. They suggest that in order for insight to drive action, the insight must be closely linked to business strategy, easy for end users to understand, and embedded into organizational processes.
Author: Frank Diana
Are you Listening?
Are you listening? All of the communication occurring in social channels can challenge our listening skills. How are we sure that we are listening in the right places? What should we be listening for? How can listening translate to tangible benefits for my business or organization? Those are only some of the pressing questions that companies are attempting to answer. As companies move down the inevitable path of co-creating products and services with customers, social channels will become an increasing source of ideas and innovation. The business imperative for customer intimacy will drive many company strategies over the next decade.
Saving America’s Cities with Analytics
In this article by Stanley S. Litow titled How to Save America’s Cities with Data Analytics, Mr. Litow describes a very interesting scenario: Companies and civic agencies developing innovative partnerships with city leaders that leverage data to make better decisions and address the greater good.
Mr. Litow touches on the growing reality that billions of transistors will be embedded in everything from police records to parking meters. City leaders can analyze the resulting data tsunami to gain new insights, and perhaps find ways to make their cities work better. This perspective underscores the notion that data from an ever growing number of sources represents a pathway to better decisions – and it’s not just limited to corporations.
Information on Social Networks
This diagram effectively presents some social networking statistics and information. These numbers continue to underscore the growing impact of social computing on society, and the inevitable effect it will have on business.
Disruption in the Retail Industry
In this report from The IBM Business Value Institute titled Meeting the Demands of the Smarter Consumer, it is easy to see the impact that the smarter consumer is having on the retail industry. This is a broader indicator of the challenges facing all businesses and governments and underscores the need for customer intimacy as a business imperative. This to me continues to highlight that our current social and data-rich state represents both tremendous opportunity and considerable challenge. I recommend this report for its insight into this growing phenomena.
The Year of the Social Enterprise
This article by Boris Pluskowski predicts that 2011 will be The Year of the Social Enterprise. He admits that his predictions are somewhat optimistic – but here’s hoping he’s right! Mr. Pluskowski believes we’re about to embark on a new era of unprecedented collaboration and social interaction that leads to the world’s first fully social business. Some key points from the article:
The Value of Twitter
I highly recommend this article by Mark Suster titled The Power of Twitter in Information Discovery. This same author has written a piece on Twitter’s use cases, which is also a good read. For those that still think Twitter is about telling people what you had for breakfast, these are must reads. I agree completely with his perspective and use Twitter in a very similar manner.
A look at 2011
As 2010 winds down, it is time to look ahead to 2011. I have high expectations as the calendar turns, and I believe 2011 will be the year of adoption. I believe we’ve reached a point where cash will come off the sidelines and I expect to see technology investments focused on revenue generation and value creation. With that as a backdrop, I’ll Label 2011 as the year of collaboration and intelligence – the two areas that I believe align very well with pressing business priorities. So here are my thoughts on 2011.
Analytics in the Utility Sector
According to Pike Research, the smart grid data analytics market will reach $4.2 billion by 2015. Software and service providers of smart grid analytics for the utility sector will ride a large growth opportunity over the next several years. According to Pike Research, the relatively small market will increase from $356 million in 2010 to nearly $4.2 billion in annual revenue by 2015.
Realizing the Benefits of CRM
This Press Release from Verint continues the Social Media and customer service drum beat. The recurring themes are:
- A growing challenge to identify, collect and act upon data delivered through an expanding number of customer communications channels
- The need for an aggregated and unified view of customer data across all channels
- Analysis that delivers insight drives rapid and informed action
- Companies are not equipped to analyze the interactions that occur via email, chat, social media, forums, etc.
- There is a heightened need for text analytics. Solutions that mine interactions and feedback across multichannel customer communications – including email, chat, blogs, review sites, social media and other text-based channels – continue to emerge
- Workflow delivers insight to the people that are best equipped to manage issues, address specific customer service concerns, or get ahead of negative sentiments in social media
The Future Call Center
Customer support is evolving to handle an ever-growing number of channels. Social media interaction is playing an expanding role in how companies provide support to their customers. I believe this Press Release from Attensity gives us a view into the future call center. As the press release points out, social media is quickly becoming a key component of customer care strategies.
Reinventing Customer Relationships
CEOs believe that the time has come to reinvent customer relationships. That’s one of the key findings in IBM’s 2010 CEO Study titled “Capitalizing on Complexity”. This belief is based on the following observations:
- The world is massively interconnected, thereby making customer intimacy a priority
- Customers have more options due to globalization and dramatic increases in available information
- Differentiation will come from innovation and co-creation with customers
- The information explosion presents a great opportunity to develop deep customer insights
Analytics Report from The MIT Sloan Management Review
A Special Report titled “Analytics: The new path to value” was released this week by the MIT Sloan Management Review. They conducted a global survey of nearly 3,000 executives, as well as in-depth interviews with leading researchers, in collaboration with the IBM Institute for Business Value.
Analytics and Politics
So predictive analytics has entered the world of politics?
In his Blog post titled Rock the Vote with Predictive Analytics, Timothy Powers explains how predictive analytics supports a political campaign. Well that makes great sense – advanced analytics has supported marketing efforts for years, and isn’t a political campaign all about marketing to voters?
The Social Customer and the Call Center
Widely recognized CRM visionary Paul Greenberg just published a report titled Contact Center 2011 – Back to the Future. Mr. Greenberg has talked about Social CRM or CRM 2.0 for quite some time. In this report, he discusses the impact of the social customer on the contact center. Here is a summary along with my perspective.
Fascinating Social Media Statistics
I recommend this very well done Social Media for Business presentation. There are some fascinating statistics provided in the material. These numbers give you an appreciation for just how massive this social wave has become. For instance:
Analyzing Data in Motion
In his “Building a Smarter Planet” Blog, Steve Hamm talks about Analyzing Data in Motion to save stroke victims. There is no better way to appreciate the power of emerging analytic technology than viewing it in the context of life saving applications. This example combines very powerful stream computing technology with predictive analytics and data mining. This combination enables high speed, scalable and complex analytics of data streams in motion. As the author describes, they are using this technology to look for patterns in data that could help them identify patients who are experiencing a severe complication to ruptured brain aneurysms.
A look at Trends in Analytics
In his Industry Trend Blog for 2010, Nenshad Bardoliwalla identified the top ten trends in analytics, business intelligence, and performance management. The author sees a vibrant market and a resurgence of innovation.
Gartner Identifies Seven Major CEO Concerns CIOs Should Address
At the Gartner Symposium / ITxpo this week, Gartner identified seven major CEO concerns and suggests that CIO find ways to address them. These concerns portray a continued lack of confidence, and anxiety over the economic climate. The seven concerns are:
Gartner’s Strategic Technologies for 2011
Earlier this week at the Gartner Symposium / ITxpo, Gartner presented their list of strategic technologies for 2011. Four of the ten technologies fit squarely in the social technologies and business analytics space covered by this Blog.
Reimagining the Future 