Describe the capability that companies like Netflix, UPS, Amazon and Caesars Entertainment have in common.
These are all leading firms in their industries with respect to leveraging analytics as a source of competitive advantage. We now have so much data being generated that companies need to understand what to do with it. ‘Business intelligence’ is the new Holy Grail: it combines business analytics, data mining, data visualization, data tools and infrastructure, and best practices to help organizations make more data-driven decisions.
My colleagues and I have created a useful tool that allows companies to see where they fall on the analytics spectrum. The tool classifies you as either a laggard, a striver or a leader, based on your capabilities. Every company should understand its strengths and weaknesses in this area. That’s the only way for leaders to prioritize investments and allocate resources effectively, and it also provides a benchmark to work from.
Just because a company like UPS or Netflix is currently a data leader doesn’t mean they get to rest on their laurels. You need to use business analytics to gain and competitive advantage, over and over again. In my experience, the best way to do that is to figure out how to use data to humanize
