Survey Finds Majority of Marketers Fail to Utilize Data Effectively
September 17, 2012
The Harvard Business Review recently reported on the results a recent survey of nearly 800 marketers are fortune 1000 companies in the article “Marketers Flunk the Big Data Test.”
According to the article, the vast majority of marketers rely too heavily on their intuition and not enough on data and statistics. The survey found that on average, marketers rely on data for just 11 percent of all customer related decisions. On the other end of the spectrum, the few marketers that do utilize data tend to rely on it too heavily.
The article states:
“While most marketers underuse data, a small fraction (11% in this study) just can’t get enough. These data hounds consult dashboards daily, and base most decisions on data. They have a “plugged in” personality type and thrive on external stimulation — so they love data and all forms of feedback including data on marketing effectiveness, input from managers or peers, and frequent interaction with others. We call these marketers “Connectors” and they’re exactly what most CMOs are looking for. But these types of marketers are actually severe underperformers (they receive much lower performance ratings from their managers than average marketers do). The problem is, they don’t have the statistical aptitude or judgment required to use data effectively. Every time they see a blip on the dashboard, they adjust — and end up changing direction so often that they lose sight of end goals.”
It’s no surprise that marketers are failing to utilize data efficiently, since only 5 percent have a statistics background. It is important that marketers continually reiterate their business goals so they do not get distracted and make common data interpretation mistakes.
Jasmine Ashton, September 17, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
IntelTrax Top Stories: September 7 to September 13
September 17, 2012
This week the IntelTrax advanced intelligence blog published articles on current trends related to big data, fraud detection, and analytics solutions that will help both of the previously stated problems.
“Real Time Analytics Makes an Impact” discusses how companies have spent the last couple of years making it so that their analytics solutions have zero lag time.
The article states:
“Operational Intelligence, basically, is real-time analytics over operational and social data. Operational intelligence, or OI as we like to call it, provides three important capabilities. First is real-time visibility over a wide variety of data. Second is real-time insight using real-time continuous analytics, and third is what we call right-time action, which means being able to take action in time to make a measurable difference in the business. We decided to focus on Operational Intelligence because it addresses some very important business problems that we felt were not well served by traditional software products today. These problems include service assurance in telco, social analytics for dynamic selling and brand management, real-time supply chain management, smart grid management in electrical utilities, and dynamic pricing in retail. These are just some of the examples.”
One way that analytics solutions have positively impacted a variety of industries is through the detection of fraud. “Fraud Analytics Deliver on Fine Art Forgeries” explains a new niche in fraud analytics that helps prevent substantial losses from individuals and museums.
The article informs:
“Just as with credit card fraud detection, the data sets created by digital authentication are quite large. Similarly, the modeling tools are extremely sophisticated, looking for patterns that would be unlikely from the painter just as a given purchase would be unlikely for a credit card holder. Zeroing in on the fraud can save an enterprise millions of dollars. Digital authentication is not real-time — it took two days to identify the fake Van Gogh. But in the world of art, that’s more than fast enough.”
When discussing advancements made in the industry, the information is often more well received when it comes from experts in the field. “Analytic News is Best From the Experts” showcases on experts opinion on the topic:
“Werner Vogels, a data guru as chief technology officer for Amazon Web Services, has been touting his interpretation of big data for almost two years. For him, managing a behemoth like Amazon, it’s not exactly what big data is, but what can be done with it.
“Big data is the collection and analysis of large amounts of data to create a competitive advantage,” he told a conference earlier this year.
“I am an infrastructure guy and for me big data is when your data sets become so large that you have to start innovating how to collect, store, organise, analyse and share it.”
Since technology is continuing to progress at rapid rates it is important the companies seek out a data analytics provider that evolves with the times. Digital Reasoning’s solutions, not only will protect your business from fraud, but its automated understanding for Big Data allows companies to find the necessary information they need to stay ahead of the competition.
Jasmine Ashton, September 17, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext.
Brain vs Brawn in Data Analysis
September 16, 2012
Is bigger necessarily better when it comes to data? Klaviyo’s Ed Hallen doesn’t think so, as he reveals in his post, “Big Data vs Intelligent Data (and What Startups Can Do with It).” He believes the recent focus on big data may be missing a big point. Intelligent data, defined as reducing huge quantities of data to just the relevant bits, is much more important than being able to analyze every scrap of data that comes your way.
Hallen enumerates what he considers intelligent data:
- Data that is clear and unambiguous – i.e. the data values can be defined and measured in a repeatable fashion.
- Data that is concise – i.e. the data represents the smallest number of data points that would lead to the same action. If you need 90% certainty to take action, it’s the amount of data that will safely give you that.
- Data that is directly linked to action – i.e. based on different values of that data, different decisions will be made and implemented.
Hallen suggests a few applications that actively help companies use data intelligently: Unbounce or Myna for A/B testing, Hubspot for marketing analytics, and, naturally, his own Klaviyo for user management and marketing. He advises startups, especially, to carefully consider what they need from their data and what they will do with that information. Good advice for any business.
Cynthia Murrell, September 16, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Health Information Exchanges Making Progress
September 15, 2012
It looks like the healthcare field may finally be entering the twenty-first century. Agilex informs us that “Maine’s HealthInfoNet Supports CDC Program to Demonstrate the Preventive Care Value of Health Information Exchanges.” We believe the Health Info Exchange (HIE) idea is a good analytics sector, and look forward to following its growth.
The CDC program referred to in the title is long-windedly called “Demonstrating the Preventive Care Value of Health Information Exchanges”, and is being led by Agilex. In 2009, Maine was one of the first states to launch an HIE, a system that is maintained by HealthInfoNet. Since they have had time to work out any kinks, and because almost 80 percent of Maine residents have at least one record in the system, that state is the first to participate in the program.
The press release states:
“HealthInfoNet is using an open-source application called popHealth to de-identify, aggregate and securely transmit clinical quality measures to the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Maine CDC). Sponsored by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC), popHealth was developed to automate reporting of meaningful use measures from a provider’s electronic health record system while ensuring de-identification of the transmitted data. The application was selected for this program due to its ability to create population-level data that has been de-identified at both the patient and provider level. This population-level data can be used to inform statewide public health and heart disease prevention strategies.”
It sounds like popHealth is a valuable resource. Another important piece of the puzzle is the open source CONNECT platform, that allows HIE’s to share data externally, yet securely, via the Nationwide Health Information Network. See the article for more details.
Headquartered close to DC in Chantilly, Virginia, Agilex serves clients in federal, state, and local governments as well as corporations. They supply mission and technology consulting, software and solution development, and system integration services. In a nod to the company’s commitment to quality, their name combines “agility” with “expertise”. Agilex was founded in 2007.
Cynthia Murrell, September 15, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Chiliad and Its Big Rocks
September 14, 2012
Some memes are just annoying, and others are actually useful. The analytics pros at Chiliad have adopted the “Big Rocks” meme to productive effect, we learn in their blog post, “Big Rocks Rock Chiliad.”
In case you haven’t heard this particular analogy, it tells the tale of a professor who showed his (her?) students the advantage of putting the most important things first. He filled a jar with (comparatively) big rocks then asked students whether it was full. When they said yes, he poured in some pebbles, which of course filled in around the rocks. He did the same with sand, then water. The jar keeps accepting more and more, but only if you put the big stuff in first.
Blogger Craig Norris explains how his company has incorporated this lesson into their culture:
“At Chiliad, however, we use the nomenclature of Big Rocks to ensure that we are maintaining our focus on the important versus the urgent, and on our critical priorities versus the typical laundry list of things we all need to get done. Big Rocks are now an integral part of our every day culture and normative terminology. . . .
“I have found using the nomenclature of Big Rocks carries a very strong message in a short-hand form that facilitates communication and improves performance by making sure we do not get tangled up in lesser issues. When we ask, ‘what are your Big Rocks?’, everyone immediately knows what we want to dialog about without any long-winded explanations.”
I’m happy to see that at least one company is able to make use of the story to facilitate communication and maintain focus on the big picture. That in itself is a lesson for all of us—accept the wisdom of popular memes, even when they are no longer shiny and new. Thinking outside the box, anyone?
Chiliad produces analysis tools for many types of data across many types of sources. The company primarily serves the intelligence, defense, law enforcement, healthcare, and pharmaceutical fields. Founded in 1998, Chiliad is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia.
Cynthia Murrell, September 14, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
FindTheData Is a Useful Resource
September 14, 2012
We’ve come across an interesting research tool. LifeHacker tells us that “FindTheData Compares Tons of Data Side-by-Side, Is a Research Gold Mine.” Writer Melanie Pinola explains:
“FindTheData is an incredibly cool tool for comparing all kinds of information—from job salaries to auto fuel economy to celebrities’ heights and weights. The web app parses data from all kinds of public databases and other sources to deliver all these facts.
“FindTheData is part of the FindTheBest family of comparison sites. While FindTheBest compares dozens of categories to help you make better decisions (e.g., pick the best college), FindTheData is more of a research/reference tool.”
Like FindTheBest, FindTheData is organized by categories like Business & Economy, Education, and Society, to name just a few. Users can filter results, do side-by-side comparisons, and delve into details. Pinola does caution us that, once we start exploring the data, it might be difficult to stop.
FindTheBest (the company behind both sites) prides itself on presenting information free from any marketing influence. They pull their data from public databases, primary sources and experts. I really like the way they present the information—clean and easy to reference. Also, the tools for refining a search are intuitive—always a huge plus in my book. I have to say Pinola is correct; I could waste a lot of time at either of these sites.
Cynthia Murrell, September 14, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Performance Dashboard ROI Calculator from Visual Mining
September 12, 2012
Visual Mining offers a (free) calculator to determine the value of a visual dashboard—see the Business Dashboard ROI Calculator at their site. Naturally, their focus is on their own software, NetCharts Performance Dashboards, but you may be able to extrapolate. The tool’s description reads:
“Reporting and analysis for your business shouldn’t be an arduous undertaking. But many businesses spend 10, 20 or even 40 hours per month assembling financial reports. With performance management dashboards, you don’t have to involve IT or consultants to customize reports, and you don’t need to spend endless hours copying, pasting and assembling data out of spreadsheets or report writers.”
Well, yes, that’s a performance dashboard for you. To use the calculator, you will enter the business’ revenue and an estimate of how many hours currently spent each month producing reports. Then plug in how much you might spend on the software, and the calculator will spit out estimated returns.
Visual Mining has been building data visualization software since 1997. Despite its old-school roots, the company prides itself on keeping up with technology, from supporting the latest browsers and devices to employing advanced chart-rendering methods. Their NetCharts is Web-based, and they also produce tools for developers to build customized, integratable dashboards. The company is headquartered in Rockville, Maryland.
Cynthia Murrell, September 12, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
VoltDB and Actuate Unite
September 12, 2012
Combine the high speed processing of VoltDB with analysis capabilities of ActuateOne, and you get a fast and flexible solution that no business will be able to do without. At least, that’s the hope behind a new pairing described in 4-Traders’ “Actuate Corporation: Actuate and VoltDB Team to Speed Processing of Big Data and Deliver Faster Insights.” The announcement was made at last month’s NoSQL Now! Conference. The write up explains:
“Organizations across a wide range of industries – including finance, digital advertising, mobile/telecom and online gaming – that have extreme needs for fast, real-time data processing will benefit from being able to quickly analyze data that is processed in milliseconds. Specialty applications for the combined solutions include fraud detection, high-velocity trade order processing, digital ad exchanges, and micro-transaction systems.”
The hybrid product promises such boons as low latency with guaranteed accuracy, scaling for large active datasets, operational and analytic dashboards, and the ability to combine real-time and historical data sources.
Launched in 1993, Actuate is headquartered in San Mateo, California. Because the company founded and co-leads the Eclipse BIRT (Business Intelligence and Reporting Tools) open source project, its NASDAQ symbol is BIRT. Its ActuateOne platform is built around this project.
VoltDB was founded specifically to serve companies that require ultra-high database throughput and real-time analytics. Their NewSQL database is an in-memory, relational SQL database. The company makes its home in Billerica, Massachusetts.
Cynthia Murrell, September 12, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Funnel Analytics from Woopra
September 11, 2012
Here’s a spin on data analysis: the funnel insight approach. In a recent blog post, Woopra announces “Deeper Conversion Insight with New Funnel Analytics.” The tool is designed to let retailers determine the point(s) at which visitors leave their site without purchasing anything. It is then, of course, up to the client to figure out how to entice potential customers beyond that point. The post tells us:
“While in the previous version a funnel had to be completed in one visit, the new Funnel Analytics can now run reports over multiple visits. This means that you can now study longer term funnels, such as those that take weeks or months to be completed.
“For example, a website visitor may complete step 1 of your funnel on her first visit to your website, but not complete the last step until 3 months later. You can now analyze this longer term behavior for more complete insight.”
Another improvement is the ability to compare segments of a site’s users, including custom segments. The software can also determine the average time and number of visits between each step of a user’s experience.
Located in San Francisco, CA, Woopra launched in 2008. Early on the real-time analytics scene, the company strives to stay on the leading edge of the customer engagement platform field.
Cynthia Murrell, September 11, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
Useful Hadoop Webinar
September 11, 2012
Once you have your data, what do you do with it? Sys-Con Media has posted a webinar to address that question, it announces in “Talend Open Studio & Hortonworks Data Platform.” If Apache‘s open source solution Hadoop is your framework of choice, this webinar may be for you. The description reads:
“Data Integration is a key step in a Hadoop solution architecture. It is the first obstacle encountered once your cluster is up and running. Ok, I have a cluster, now what? Complex scripts? For wide scale adoption of Apache Hadoop, an intuitive set of tools that abstract integration complexity is necessary.
“Enter Talend Open Studio for Big Data.“Join us in this 60-minute webinar with Jim Walker, Director of Product Marketing at Hortonworks and Ciaran Dynes, Director of Product Marketing at Talend to discuss the different approaches organizations can take to avoid the complexity of uploading or extracting data from Hadoop.”
The webinar promises to cover the following: how to quickly load a cluster; how to use Adobe’s HCatalog; and how to create a script for Adobe’s Pig without having to write code. Check it out—you might want this one for your instructional library.
Talend and Hortonworks are both leading open source vendors, providing Hadoop-based middleware for data management and application integration.
Cynthia Murrell, September 11, 2012
Sponsored by ArnoldIT.com, developer of Augmentext
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