How does it affect you? Many businesses report a disconnect between their desire to capitalize on data and their ability to do so. It becomes even more imperative for business and IT to Efficient analytics-enabled business processing develop a joint model and terminology for valuing information, which is directly linked to the organization’s key performance indicators. measurably impacts performance. Efficient analytics-enabled business processing measurably impacts performance by supporting better planning, forecasting and decision-making. It can help boost revenues, reduce risks and increase agility. But getting this right often demands Ensuring that all parts of the business are engaged, so that the full picture is that traditional IT and operational roles, structures and culture adapt to a new captured and information gaps are minimized, is another challenge. Customer way of working, not least through the introduction of specialist positions, such as data is a typical example: sales holds some data, such as billing addresses and data scientists. transaction records, while marketing may hold customer feedback insights, and The adoption of analytics also brings with it new risks. Traditional levels of logistics holds physical delivery details. Information is often either duplicated or comfort around data quality, privacy, intellectual property and reputation inconsistent, if it is available at all. management must evolve. This, in turn, impacts people’s behavior. Nevertheless, correctly navigating such challenges is worth the effort. In an era of consumerization, those organizations able to monitor and predict customer behavior and preferences closely, without crossing the line on privacy, can gain significant advantage. 4 | 5 Insights for executives