Analytics and Insights: Drive Competitive Advantage Through Analytics

It’s common to hear that every company is now a technology company. In today’s digital economy, data is the oxygen fueling growth of the most competitive companies—it’s the backbone of technology.

The top five companies leading the S&P 500 are the most well-known analytical competitors in today’s marketplace. The “FAANG” companies (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google) have dominated the S&P 500, and everyone else is trying to keep up.

Analytics is not new. However, the rise in the amount of data available and the extreme advancements in computing power has led to the analytics of today’s market. The “Age of Data” is changing to the “Age of Automation” with machine learning and artificial intelligence leading the way.

As a trusted advisor and consultancy, we help our clients such as Interstate Batteries, Comdata, and Gold’s Gym understand the transformation that is required to compete in tomorrow’s economy. Credera’s Analytics and Insights Service Area is focused on partnering with our clients to navigate this new era of analytics and create solutions that foster lasting success. Our methodology is centered on increasing our client’s analytic maturity, attacking their market, and increasing top-line revenue through data-driven strategies. The following examples cover a few of the ways Credera partners with our clients to accomplish these goals.

Modernize Your Data Platform

Businesses have outgrown the old data warehouse structure that requires IT to provide yesterday’s data. Users need information now and it must be in a format that is readily consumable. To meet this need, we help our clients modernize their data architecture by harmonizing traditional data warehouses with big data and real-time decision-making.

Architectures vary between companies, but a successful data foundation typically includes the following five principles:

1. Get the right data to the right people at the right time

2. Develop a flexible architecture

3. Scale up (and down) quickly

4. Commit to security from the beginning

5. Account for machine learning

On a previous client engagement, our team created a supply chain analytics platform that allowed customers to identify opportunities to save money on medical supplies. Due to the sheer size and nature of this client’s business, the above principles were critical to the success of the new platform.

The Customer at the Center

As customers continue to expect more personalized experiences, it’s more important than ever to know your customer. Customer data is often widely available, but sometimes there is so much data it is a challenge to know where to begin. We have found that a single view of the customer is critical to cut through the noise. Marketers who have a unified, 360-degree view of their customers that is integrated with digital marketing are significantly more effective in responding to and predicting customer needs.

In this space, Credera recently partnered with a large retail company to define their marketing technology roadmap, build their customer data warehouse using a modern data architecture approach, and enable customer segmentation to drive personalized marketing campaigns. To read more on our perspective on this topic, check out our recent blog post on customer analytics.

Transform Raw Data into Actionable Insights

As businesses move toward data-driven strategies, quick access to analytical insights is critical in maintaining a competitive advantage across all levels of an organization. Using data visualizations and self-service analytics, we place the power of real-time data in the hands of key decision makers and operational drivers.

In a recent client example, we used Power BI Direct Query to provide real-time updates for tasks on a manufacturing shop floor. This report allowed users to accurately track tasks and increase efficiencies across the plant. We’re passionate about this type of work because it typically has a positive financial impact on the company and creates a simplified life for the end user.

Innovate and Differentiate

It’s easy for companies to feel like they are constantly behind their peers in the analytics space. There is a common sentiment among many executives that the top companies have fostered an analytical culture to unlock their data potential while others play catch up. To stay ahead of the curve, we work with our clients to utilize Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to differentiate, gain market-share, and improve efficiency. Additionally, we help companies tackle big data and Internet of Things (IoT) by turning streaming, social, and event-driven data into real-time, meaningful insights.

To learn about our perspective on Machine Learning and see examples of how we have helped companies in this area, please check out our recent Machine Learning blog series.

Establish an Analytics Culture

Last, but definitely not least, we help companies establish an analytics culture, define their organizational structure, and identify the right people to enable them to become an analytical competitor. What works for one company usually doesn’t work for the next, so it is important to create your unique competency in analytics, data engineering, and insights. We work closely with existing teams to define the roles and responsibilities, governance and organizational structure, and enterprise analytics organizations. This is a common element in all our client engagements.

Summary

Focused on market penetration, competitive advantage, engaging customers, and profitable revenue growth through innovative solutions, Credera helps companies transform to thrive in the new digital economy. Our team is passionate about analytics, but even more so, we are passionate about helping our clients exceed their goals and better reach their customers through the delivery of strong data strategy and well-developed technology. We stay current on cutting-edge analytics technologies, so we can always leverage the best platforms for our client’s needs. It’s this combination of passion and industry knowledge that positions us well to help companies across all industries.

If you’re interested in learning about how Credera can help your company excel in analytics, please reach out to us at findoutmore@credera.com. We would love to help you meet your immediate and long-term analytics goals.

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• Analytics & Insights