In this discussion we will broadly discuss What analytics offers, Why is it beneficial to your organization, and How this can help you improve ...
WHAT - is analytics:
In general, analytics refers to the ability to gather, to interpret and to discover meaningful patterns within data. Aggregating large amounts of structured and unstructured data into something that is relatable or a key indicator for your business performance is the goal of any analytics software solution.
Within the study of analytics there are three tenants of analytical data:
- Descriptive Analytics - display of historical data / trend analysis
- A good example of a Descriptive Analytics could be: credit reports. Financial institutions use your past credit history as a measure of risk for the future.
- Predictive Analytics - making a forecast of some future event
- A good example of Predictive Analytics could be, your launch of a web browser. You browser presents the ‘news’ that is curated for you based on your past actions and interests.
- Prescriptive Analytics - making a recommendation based on use of Machine Learning algorithms
- A good example of Prescriptive Analytics could be, your use of Netflix. Note how it recommends a new video offering?
WHEN - should analytics be used:
This is an interesting question – just as “art is in the eye of the beholder” so too, is the art of analytics! It is always subject to interpretation.
You may see analytics as a daily means test – “where are we today?”
Or, in the last number of days (weeks, or months) when did I achieve a certain low or high mark?
Suffice to say there is no hard fast answer, WHEN is one of the key benefits of PRINERGY Decision Analytics – because you determine WHEN you need the information based on WHAT is available.