- Advanced Analytics
- Master Data Management
- Big Data
Business Intelligence & Advanced Analytics
Business and technology are experiencing convergence, which will mean that data and analytics leaders are central to any high-performance digital organization. Organizations cannot differentiate themselves from their competitors with technology alone. In fact, no present-day business of any kind can operate without technology: hardware, software, networks and applications are central to our professional and personal lives; they are a minimum requirement.
So how do companies achieve a competitive advantage in today’s business environments? Simply put, they must learn to use data, information and analytics more easily and more effectively. If data and analytics leaders don’t develop the new strategies, skills, roles and methods needed to manage and analyze data, they will be overwhelmed — both as organizations and individuals. We will be drowning in the seas of data that we have created, unable to separate truth from fiction, and unable to make decisions with confidence. Information is power, but that power can be destructive as well as creative.
1. How has this topic evolved since last year? Have you noticed any major changes in the market, strategy or technology?
A: The biggest change has been the continued and rapid growth in interest in augmented analytics. For organizations to move to a culture of self-service business analytics in a world of big data takes more than just the right analytic skills, it takes embedded machine learning techniques, natural language interfaces and a focus on data storytelling to communicate business meaning.
2. What’s one of the biggest mistakes organizations make when it comes to this topic?
A: Too many organizations are getting distracted by the “Shiny New Thing of AI” without recognizing that the “Basics” of Analytics and BI not only deliver huge value in themselves, but are also a necessary component of an analytic strategy that stretches from traditional reporting to the undoubted potential of AI. Although most organizations have some type of Analytic and BI capability already, thinking of this as a mature space overlooks continual improvements in the automation of analytic processes that are delivering new insights across the organization at a previously unobtainable depth, speed and reach.
3. How are IT leaders leveraging this topic to transform their organizations?
A: The value of analysis lies in its ability to challenge assumptions and change the status quo. As analytics and BI becomes ubiquitous across the organization, every part of the business has the chance to recognize when old ways of thinking are no longer sufficient for modern digital business and so refine their decision making in the light of new data. In this era of continuous change, the need for a consistent, accurate way to uncover and establish new opportunities and challenges, and then establish a strategy to meet them is critical.
4. Finish this sentence: “If organizations don’t get their digital business transformation right, they will….”
A: …lose their best employees and customers to those who do.
5. How attending Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo 2020 will help IT leaders with their priorities and key initiatives?
A: IT leaders will see a variety of thought leading frameworks that will put in context the mixture of real world examples and survey data that showcase the best practices and actions other IT leaders across a variety of industries and business models are pursuing.