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Think back to the last time you went to the doctor. If something was wrong you needed medicine. Once the doctor figured out what was wrong with you, they wrote a prescription! This prescription is made up of two things – a prediction and a description. The description describes what has been happening – why have you been coughing? The prediction describes what will happen – your virus causing your cough could spread to affect other parts of your body. With these two things in hand the doctor can write his prescription. The prescription tells you what you should do – take this medicine twice daily.

In much the same way prescriptive analytics work for businesses. [Read more…] about The Analyst Will See You Now

There is quite a bit of unpredictability in sports; that’s why they are fun to watch. While being able to predict the results of every play in a game or a match would take all the excitement out of it, owners and managers could certainly benefit from predicting what it could take to lead their team to a winning season.  Like a prophetic crystal ball, data analytics helps sports teams and businesses alike make predictions like these with confidence. [Read more…] about Forecasting Business Success

Are you climbing the ladder? What is your company’s personality? Don’t forget time is money! Using metaphors is second nature to us, and there is certainly no shortage of them in business. While these metaphors quickly establish a common ground of understanding between different parties, they can actually interfere with decision making. One more reason that decisions must be quantifiably justified. [Read more…] about Minimize Risk with Data Analytics

Time for a quick experiment on data visualization.  Search Google for “data” and look under images. What you do not see is almost as instructive as what you do see. You won’t see tables and tables of numbers lacking context. Instead, you are treated to all sorts of graphical and pictorial interpretations of data, some almost reminiscent of an iconic screen shot view from The Matrix movie. We intuitively know, and the internet confirms, that reams of data, even if they are organized, are of very limited value without a humanistic visualization.
[Read more…] about Can You See Data?

In a way, Google is the librarian of the twenty-first century. No matter how obscure your request, if you bring it to her, she will find the information you are looking for with her own search system, even more inscrutable than the Dewey Decimal system libraries historically operated on. Amongst the many advantages of Google, one in particular stands out for those concerned with researching trends and seeing what is hot – the search engine’s perfect memory. Google Trends is a helpful tool that allows you to type in a search term and it reports back to you the historical volume of searches for that term. [Read more…] about Four Ways to Big Data Success

Why did you (or are you) starting your own business? If you are like the two thirds of Americans that dream of self-employment, chances are you desire more control over your life and greater financial potential. However, surveys consistently find that the barriers holding most people back are financial as well. Financial security, capital requirements, and fears of failure all rank high on would be entrepreneurs’ lists of concerns. [Read more…] about Niche and Grow Your Business