How are analytics going to change our lives and businesses?

I’ve been on the road for the past several months exploring many organizations that are creating the next generation of analytics for clients. These markets are as diverse as education and healthcare to financial services, manufacturing, and supply chain applications.

Our world is about to be changed by these analytics and future generations of these cognitive technologies. Analytics for all is going to change the way we live and how we do business around the world.

I believe this analytics explosion is ready to start disrupting many industries in the process. Today, I’ll share some of the changes I see analytics causing in many industries. I hope to provide you with a foundation to the changes that lie ahead for you. In my career, I’ve seen many changes in how we do business. I’ve helped many clients and partners adjust quickly to many disruptive changes facing their organizations. They are stronger because of leveraging these changes.

Analytics and big data are going to create a tidal wave of change. Technology is just starting to reach its potential. I hope to share what I’ve seen in hopes that it can help you decide how you are going to leverage this to impact your career and life.

The first change analytics causes is you need stronger business skills to harness its full potential. Analytics for all means democratization of how decisions are made in your organization. Analytics for all creates significant opportunities in all areas of your business. Analytics provides you an opportunity to better understand what happens with your key business assets, your customers, and your clients.

The second change analytics causes is you can to make better decisions faster. Many small and midmarket organizations are making decisions without the facts and insights that analytics can provide. Imagine having the ability to structure, manage, and make decisions very quickly. These organizations have the ability to leverage their market knowledge and insights more quickly than many of their larger competitors.

The third change analytics causes is you are able to identify patterns faster than in the past. Leaders have increased flexibility in both small and large data. Most of these analytics include automated learning systems that help organizations accelerate their learning curves in many key aspects of the business. This requires us to build stronger measurement systems to provide an advantage to your organizations.

To use analytics effectively you need to monitor key performance metrics in your business. The flexibility these analytics provide allows you to leverage critical success factors to grow your business. The executives I’ve spoken with believe that analytics will allow them to better manage their organizations more effectively. They will be able to create competitive advantage with these critical applications.

The fourth change analytics causes is a smarter culture for your organization. On the surface this may be more challenging than it is. Business organizations need to attract stronger people who know how to apply the capabilities of analytics to their organization.

The fast rise of analytics leaves a deficit of talent for the short term. IBM and many leading universities are adding analytics and big data programs not only their MBA programs, but also their undergraduate programs. The problem is that many of these programs are limited in the developing of the next generation of corporate leadership. To maximize the impact of analytics and business education, I recommend a team based approach to using and leveraging analytics. We will talk about this more in future blogs.

This leads to the fifth change, analytics causes organizations to use a team based approach to managing and leading organizations. Multi-generational expertise is required to truly leverage these breakthrough technologies.

Managers and executives need to learn how to manage smarter, younger team members.  Younger, less experienced analysts and technologists need to learn how to influence others at senior levels to take action faster than they have in the past. At the early stage of analytics adoption, organizations need to learn quickly and remain agile in how they take advantage of their newest capabilities.

As you think about the impact analytics has on how you do business, it becomes clear that the soft side of business helps lead to increased results through leveraging analytics capabilities. Next week, we will talk about the key qualities you need in building a more successful organization in the analytics age.

To achieve breakthrough performance in this new analytics for all age, it requires a number skills that are learnable. I will share what I’ve seen work and how to get started as soon as possible. It may not surprise you, but it’s not only about the technologies involved.

See you next week.