Applied Business Analytics: Integrating Business Process, Big Data, and Advanced Analytics - Hardcover

Lin, Nathaniel

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0133481506 ISBN 13: 9780133481501

Publisher: Pearson FT Press, 2014

Synopsis

Bridge the gap between analytics and execution, and actually translate analytics into better business decision-making! Now that you've collected data and crunched numbers, Applied Business Analytics reveals how to fully apply the information and knowledge you've gleaned from quants and tech teams. Nathaniel Lin explains why "analytics value chains" often break due to organizational and cultural issues, and offers "in the trenches" guidance for overcoming these obstacles. You'll discover why a special breed of "analytics deciders" is indispensable for any organization that seeks to compete on analytics... how to become one of those deciders... and how to identify, foster, support, empower, and reward others to join you.

 

Lin draws on actual cases and examples from his own experience, augmenting them with hands-on examples and exercises to integrate analytics at all levels: from top-level business questions to low-level technical details. Along the way, you'll learn how to bring together analytics team members with widely diverse goals, knowledge, and backgrounds. Coverage includes:  

• How analytical and conventional decision making differ — and the challenging implications
• How to determine who your analytics deciders are, and ought to be
• Proven best practices for actually applying analytics to decision-making
• How to optimize your use of analytics as an analyst, manager, executive, or C-level officer

Applied Business Analytics will be invaluable to wide audiences of professionals, decision-makers, and consultants involved in analytics, including Chief Analytics Officers, Chief Data Officers, Chief Scientists, Chief Marketing Officers, Chief Risk Officers, Chief Strategy Officers, VPs of Analytics and/or Big Data, data scientists, business strategists, and line of business executives. It will also be exceptionally useful to students of analytics in any graduate, undergraduate, or certificate program, including candidates for INFORMS certification.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN BUSINESS ANALYTICS AND BETTER DECISIONS

• Overcome structural and cultural obstacles to gaining value from analytics
• Optimize your use of analytics as an analyst, manager, or executive
• Discover proven best practices from real cases and examples

You possess massive data sets. You’re constantly crunching numbers. But are you really improving your decision making? As many businesses have discovered, there’s a huge gap between merely doing analytics and gaining real value from it.

Applied Business Analytics will help you bridge that gap.

 

Using real cases and hands-on examples, Nathaniel Lin helps you successfully integrate and profit from analytics at all levels of the business: from top-level strategy to low-level operational detail.

 

Lin illuminates the organizational and cultural issues that break “analytics value chains,” and helps you clear away these obstacles. You’ll learn why a special breed of “analytics deciders” is indispensable for any organization aiming to compete on analytics...how to become one of them...and how to identify, foster, support, empower, and reward others to join you.

 

If you’re a business professional, you don’t need to be “evangelized” about analytics. But you’ve seen enough to recognize the gap between promise and reality. As elsewhere, execution makes all the difference. Applied Business Analytics will help you execute on your analytics opportunity—even if you don’t have a Ph.D. in statistics (and don’t want one)!

 

Through real case studies and examples, Nathaniel Lin presents powerfully effective ways to embed analytics throughout current business processes, and use it to shape strategic new processes.

 

Lin starts with an up-to-date primer on the basics: data, tools, and processes. Next, he systematically addresses the crucial organizational and cultural challenges businesses face when they attempt to implement analytics.

 

Drawing on immense personal experience, he answers critical questions such as: How should analytics change decision-making? How should you organize, manage, and integrate it? How do you effectively promote analytics-driven decision-making? What kind of predictions can analytics credibly make? How do you detect patterns you can actually act on?

 

Whatever your role in leading, implementing, or utilizing analytics, this guide will help you figure out where you stand, decide where to go, and get there.

 

Bridge the gaps between analytics technology and better decisions
Develop unbroken “analytics value chains” that deliver maximum value

 

Go beyond implementing tools and hiring analysts
Build the right competencies, ecosystem, and culture

 

Understand what your analysts are telling you
...and make sure they’re delivering what you really need

 

Apply proven analytics workflows to solve real business problems
Walk through complete examples and adapt them to your own environment

About the Author:

Dr. Nathaniel Lin is a recognized leader in marketing and business analytics across various industries worldwide. He has over 20 years of frontline experience applying actionable advanced analytics strategies to the world’s largest companies in technology, finance, automotive, telecommunications, retail, and across many other businesses, including IBM, Fidelity Investments, OgilvyOne, and Aspen Marketing Analytics.

 

Nathaniel is currently the Chief Customer Insights Officer of Attract China. He is leading the efforts to develop leading edge Big Data Analytics technology and knowledge assets to deliver unparalleled values to Chinese travelers and U.S. clients. Nathaniel is widely recognized as an expert, teacher, author, and hands-on leader and senior executive in the application of data and advanced analytics in a wide variety of businesses. He is also the Founder and President of Analytics Consult, LLC (www.analyticsconsult.com). He leverages his rich and unique expertise in business analytics to help companies optimize their customer, marketing, and sales strategies. Together with his team, Nathaniel serves as a trusted strategic advisor to senior management teams. He is frequently invited as the keynote speaker in analytics events and advised over 150 CEOs in the U.S. and aboard on analytics and Big Data issues. He was invited by WWW2010 as one of the four expert panelists (together with the heads of Google Analytics, eBay Analytics, and Web Analytics Association) on the Future of Predictive Analytics.

 

As a recognized analytics expert, Nathaniel has partnered with Professor Tom Davenport to benchmark analytics competencies of major corporations across different industries. He also demonstrates his passion in cultivating future analytics leaders by teaching Strategic CRM and Advanced Business Analytics for MBA students at the Georgia Tech College of Management, Boston College Carroll School of Management, and Quant III Advanced Business Analytics at Bentley University.

 

Nathaniel holds a PhD in Engineering from Birmingham University (UK) and an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management.

 

About this edition

• Publisher: Pearson FT Press
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0133481506
• ISBN 13: 9780133481501
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 320