According to Dave Blanchard (Industryweek), customer’s demands for lower delivered costs are seen to be a big challenge. But, by using predictive analysis, we can identify patterns and predict future events. An organization using predictive analysis can make better decisions. George Prest (CEO of MHI) says that companies that continue to use traditional supply chain models will struggle in the future.  According to the MHI/Deloitte study, it was found that less than 25% of companies have adopted predictive analytics though that number is expected to climb to 70% over the next three to five years.

 Read more at: http://www.industryweek.com/supply-chain/predictive-analytics-let-manufacturers-see-more-clearly-their-supply-chains

Predictive analytics is a “business game changer” that will separate the winners from the losers, according to Forrester. The better a company is at predicting what will happen in the future, the better positioned they are to do something about it. While data scientists will do the heaviest analytic-related lifting at big enterprises, the improvements that have been made to predictive analytic (also called advanced analytic) applications enables regular business people and developers to partake of the predictive bounty. With so many companies coming into the foray of analytics services, today the users have more options to choose from keeping the cost-benefit & need-value trade-offs in mind.  RapidMiner offers a “rock solid” enterprise solution with more than 1,500 methods that address all stages of the analytics lifecycle and has among the tightest integration with the cloud, Forrester says. There are also other options like SAS, SPSS, KNIME, sap, oracle to name a few.

To read more, visit:

http://www.datanami.com/2015/04/07/predictive-analytics-now-in-reach-of-the-average-enterprise-forrester-says/

Investing in talent management software can assist HR professionals in gathering and analyzing the data of employees. Applying big data analytics to measure employee performance can help organization to find strength and weakness of their employees e.g. many companies use wearable tech to improve communication within its stores, to track employees when they're at work. Employee satisfaction surveys, team assessments, social media, exit and stay interviews etc. can help HR to predict employee's attrition. Conducting performance appraisals and 360-degree performance reviews can help HR in better understanding the effectiveness of their professional development efforts. Big data analytics can be an advantage while hiring employees. Read more at: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/244247

In this customer focused world, supply chain is no longer an internally visible process. The focus has now shifted to knowing where the supply chain needs to be. Predictive Analytics helps answer this question. According to Bill Abernathy, head of North America product supply logistics excellence, Bayer CropScience, “Predictive analytics are changing consumer buying behavior and supply chain professionals need to be able to satisfy the increasing demands of consumers who expect products delivered exactly when promised.” With the help of predictive analytics, manufactures are now able to make better decisions that are based on anticipating present and future customer preferences. Dave Blanchard, Senior Editor, IndustryWeek, has written in his article link about how predictive analytics is becoming a necessity for manufacturers. 

Read more at: http://www.industryweek.com/supply-chain/predictive-analytics-let-manufacturers-see-more-clearly-their-supply-chains 

Digitization has seen a rise in India in the past few years. Due to this, huge amount of data about our daily lives, needs and preferences is easily available. This is BIG DATA. If companies are already using this, then why can’t Government? Using big data analytics by government in policy making is a big step in improving its effectiveness. Moreover, government already has data in the form of Aadhaar Card details to start with. This data analysis can be used in a number of areas like formulating better policies for farmers by using Kisan Call Centre records, improving the transportation system, etc. This idea has already been implemented in Singapore and Germany on a smaller scale, but implementing it in India on a large scale can set another benchmark in evidence based policy making. Implementing this idea also faces various challenges like inefficiency of the public sector in India, invasion of right to privacy and not focusing on relevant information on such a large pool of data. The government already has initiated this idea but the need is efficient implementation.

Read more at: http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/LaTyG3Q111tuYa73XNMXsJ/The-promise-of-big-data-analytics.html

The latest development in the use of data and analytics is: Advanced HR Analytics. It is the application of new techniques and new thinking to talent management. It involves human resources and has a huge impact on an organization. Various organizations are already using it for following purposes:

·         Increasing the engagement and productivity of their employees

·         Reducing compensation expenditures

·         Reducing retention bonuses by $20 million

·         Reducing employee attrition by half

·         Detecting previously unobserved behavioral patterns

The insights that these companies have gained from data analytics are highly useful. Risk is always involved where there is a human element. But, developing data analytics to drive better people decisions can help companies compete in a better way.

To know more, read the following article in March 2015 edition of McKinsey Quarterly by Bruce Fecheyr-Lippens, Bill Schaninger, and Karen Tanner:

http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/organization/power_to_the_new_people_analytics

In a recent research, it was found that annual revenues from connected healthcare and fitness online services will approach $2 billion by 2019 i.e. nearly six times the $320 million value estimated for 2015. The study also found out that connected healthcare devices and the data they generate will benefit consumers of these new products.  The study further found that the importance of hardware will diminish at a much faster rate than other IoT market segments and demand for analytics software (that can extract meaning from data) will increase. Read more at: http://www.socialmediatoday.com/technology-data/2015-03-31/demand-big-data-apps-fitness-and-healthcare

Big Data means a huge amount of data and is characterized by 3Vs: Volume, Velocity, and Variety. Big Data has become very clumsy. So, the trend is shifting towards Fast Data, which means processing of massive data in real time to gain instant awareness and detect signals of interest on the spot. Another trend is Actionable Data, which synthesizes the predictive analytics and what-if analysis which enables you to take actions with feedback. Another new trend is Relevant Data which is critical to identify pertinence in the data set, and which leads to understanding of unrelated events and sequence. The last trend is Smart Data which is meaning-based computing and cognitive analytics that make solutions intelligent and self-improving. In a nutshell, Fast Data, Actionable Data, Relevant Data, and Smart Data (FARS) are replacing Big Data. Read more at: http://www.socialmediatoday.com/technology-data/2015-04-04/big-data-really-dead

Customers always want good customer service and like timely support and excellent customer service drives repeat business. Customers can pay a little more for products or services if they receive good customer service. CRM system helps to improve customer support and increase sales through automated e-mails, quotes, and invitations to sales events. Anthony Ortega (Analyst with Studio B) writes in his article link about how to turn great customer support into sales. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/turning-customer-support-into-future-sales-opportunities-66195

In a manufacturing process everything is volatile and the main driver of that volatility is demand. Customer relationship management (CRM) system is the best place that reveals to us whether a product is in demand or not. The CRM system shows what will be bought and by whom. Earlier, assistants would gather data from people or reports, combine these data into spreadsheets, and then make the calculations. But, nowadays, dashboards are used to reduce the workload. David Gillman (Analyst with Studio B), writes in his article link about some common metrics that manufacturers need from the CRM system. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/crm-dashboard-data-that-matters-most-to-manufacturing-executives-66197

According to a report from Gartner, it was found that 40% of CRM applications are hosted in the cloud and nowadays businesses outsource their customer relationship management (CRM) software to another company. But, question arises that do businesses outsource CRM operations like customer care or sales programs? The answer is no because it is always better to manage CRM operations internally than outsourcing to another company. But, if you don’t have that option, you have to weigh the pros and cons of outsourcing. Petra Jorgenson (Studio B Analyst), writes in her article link about the pros and cons of outsourcing customer relationships to a third party. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/outsourcing-crm-do-the-risks-outweigh-the-benefits-65986

Data is important in any business and customer relationship management (CRM) systems collect volumes of data, plan for the future, learn from the past, and is also a target for hackers. The most important reason that hackers are target CRM data is that it allows them to conduct fraudulent transactions. Phishing is another reason. Hackers target CRM data for the purpose of social engineering, also called masquerading. Jerri Ledford (Analyst with Studio B), writes in her article about why hackers want CRM data. To know more, follow: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/3-reasons-hackers-want-your-crm-data-66053

The Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is responsible for giving rise to the current trend in enterprise mobility. Mobility improves employee productivity, employee satisfaction, and decision making and is an extension of customer relationship management (CRM). Petra Jorgenson (Analyst with Studio B), writes about some points which one needs to consider before one allows employees to access system from their personal devices. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/3-things-you-need-to-consider-to-support-mobile-crm-in-a-byod-environment-66153

Accounting ratios provide insight into multiple factors. Nowadays, database interactivity has become better and the increasing use of centralized data stores are increasing. So, accounting ratios also need some re-evaluation. David Gillman (Analyst with Studio B), writes about some metrics that an accountant must take into account in a CRM system. They are: Close Rate, Cost per Sale, True Profit per Customer, and Salesperson Effectiveness. To know more, follow: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/top-4-metrics-for-accountants-from-the-crm-system-66155

The investment banks are now looking at how they can use big data to do what they do better, faster and more efficiently. Senior executives at the banks want to enhance how they use data to raise profitability, map out markets and company-wide exposures, and ultimately win more deals. Big data is also a fundamental element of risk-profiling for the banks, enabling data analysts to immediately assess the impact of the escalation in geopolitical risk on portfolios and their exposure to specific markets and asset classes. Specifically, banks have now built systems that will map out market-shaping past events in order to identify future patterns. There lies the requirement of big data talent!

The banks are actively recruiting big data and analytics specialists to fill two main, but significantly different roles: big data engineers and data scientists. Data Scientists are responsible for bridging the gap between data analytics and business decision-making, capable of translating complex data into key strategy insight, while Data Engineers typically come from a strong IT development or coding background and are responsible for designing data platforms and applications. The competition between banks and fund managers to hire big data specialists is heating up. Data scientists are expected to have sharp technical and quantitative skills. They are in highest demand and this is where the biggest skill shortage exists.

To read more, visit the link given below:

http://www.computerweekly.com/opinion/Investment-banks-recruit-for-the-rise-of-big-data-analytics

A combination of customer relationship management (CRM) and marketing automation can make an organization understand how to make effective marketing campaigns and what needs to be improved to make them even more effective. Marketing automation is ineffective if the integration of CRM and marketing automation is not correct. For CRM–marketing automation integration to be successful, all the parties i.e. from the sales team to the automation vendor must be at par and if data are inconsistent or duplicated, it can create problem in a marketing strategy or campaign. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/3-factors-to-consider-when-integrating-marketing-automation-and-crm-66138

Cricket and Analytics are hot topics today. With the help of technology Analytics, the interest quotient of cricket has gone up exponentially. High definition telecasts, data visualisation have really made cricket exciting to watch nowadays. Vijay Sethi, VP and CIO at Hero MotoCorp Ltd, speaks about how he sees his favourite game today that comes with a generous dose of analytics. To read more, visit the following link:

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/analytics-in-cricket-is-a-technological-marvel-hero-motocorp-cio-vijay-sethi/536201-3.html

Gartner predicts that by 2025 up to 85 percent of all CRM systems will be in the cloud and CRM market is expected to grow by 14.8 percent annually through 2017. Cloud computing helps CRM software with better and faster data, ease of access, and is simple to deploy and use.  Mae Kowalke (journalist and communications professional) writes in her article link about some major changes in CRM systems. To know more, follow: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/six-ways-that-crm-has-changed-since-the-cloud-66116

CRM vendors are trying to differentiate themselves from one another to provide a higher level of business value. They have realized that it is not sufficient to offer a well-designed system with application programming interfaces; one must also offer analytics and business intelligence capabilities, as well. CRM systems are predicting based on past data collected, future sales opportunities or marketing campaign results. One of the major trends anticipated for the CRM market this year centers around mobile access and all the CRM players are working on enhancing mobile CRM apps so that they can support the workers who work outside an office set up. Read more at: http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/crm-analytics-for-a-better-business-insight-what-can-we-expect-for-2015-66119

Many cricket teams are using Big Data Analytics to make important decisions about how to play and attack. There are sensors in the pitch and therefore we get loads of data per match which gives an opportunity to analyze this data with legacy data to make a very meaningful perspective. For example, we get data like- what % of balls by a bowler in a match are short pitch resulting in what % of total wickets or runs attributed to that type of balling in this match compared with past matches which makes the application of Big Data Analytics more meaningful. Read more at: http://tyronesystems.com/cwc/?p=1144