Posted by Ajay Kelkar on Fri, Oct 21, 2011
What's sexy about Analytics -the insight or the decision? Different industries seem to think differently!
Who values Analytics more? Some industries seem to believe in the power of analytics & actually base decisions on it. A bank decides whether to give a loan or not basis an Application score card or a credit card company spots a fraudulent activity basis analytics & stops the card usage.
A lot of other industries use Analytics for insight generation but are they as good as the Banking & Financial services industry (BFSI) in linking the analytics to action.
But do analytics professionals care about the decision or are they happy just doing the sexy “insight” oriented stuff!
I have had experience now across sectors & I see some critical differences.
- BFSI has developed processes around analytics & has mastered the art of bringing an algorithm close to the point of decision making. Banks & NBFC’s can use data to take effective decisions about whom to lend to & what interest rate to charge.
- In comparison, for many industries Analytics is still the appetizer, it helps you think & get insights but the decisions get taken without an algorithm. That is not to say that you need an analytical algorithm to take every decision but I am sure it can help.
- Now imagine if we could pioneer this for other industries like Fast moving consumer goods(FMCG), DTH or Retail or even Auto. As a part of my work at Cequity, we have often done this. But it takes effort to build the processes around it. Imagine if an FMCG company had a Marketing mix simulator basis which they took decisions on their marketing investments basis what analytics throws up as effective!
- After all Analytics should help in “Making decisions”!! And wherever one does this, the interesting thing is how the Data & technology expertise is combined with Analytics & effective engagement vehicles (Call centres, Mobile apps, websites) to make this happen.