post Thursday January 24, 2013
The value of analytics and quantitative analysis is indisputable. As technology continues to evolve, the importance of leveraging this analysis will become even more decisive in a company’s success or failure. The trend of gathering and utilizing consumer data is on the rise across many different industries. From forecasting specific crop growth based on daily weather patterns to predicting who will attend Hollywood’s next blockbuster, data analysis is changing the landscape of business strategies and is becoming a critical piece of intellectual property that a company possesses.
A leading driver of this change is the ease of collecting this data as well as the rapidly decreasing costs that are related to it. One portion of the growing data industry is the service and tools required to gather the data. Companies like SAP and Euclid Analytics focus on gathering business data and providing it to companies. Euclid Analytics has created a platform that allows for consumers to be tracked when they approach a store. The product sheds light into how long a customer looks at a window display, the percentage who walk in the store and even how much time is spent shopping. This information can prove to be extremely helpful for marketing products and can guide how a store advertises its goods.
In addition to accumulating the data and selling the platforms, other companies acquire the data, interpret it and generate analysis and strategic advice for third parties. One example of a company that is creating intellectual property through data analysis is Quantifind. Quanitfind’s goal is to determine what types of audiences will attend the different movies that are being produced in Hollywood. The value driver for Quanitifind is the complex algorithms that interpret the majority of data that is becoming readily available to the public domain. A primary source of their data is through social media and other consumer patterns. This information and forecasting is utilized by some movie studios to tailor their advertising to certain demographics and is used to dictate the types of films that are showcased.
Utilizing data to add value to a company is not a strictly recent trend, in fact since the early 1990’s some organizations have found a considerable portion of their innovation from leveraging data. A prime example of a successful startup company that made the most of data is Capital One. Additionally, already successful corporations like Walmart and other retailers incorporate data gathering, analysis and forecasting into their business strategy. With the rapidly increasing amount of data available, and the need for innovation becoming even more pressing, it is clear that the value and importance of these intangibles will continue to increase.
Source: Financial Times
Image source: Free Digital Photos
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