SigmaWay Blog

In modern world, analytics plays a significant role and therefore various organizations develop cohesive analytics for customer satisfaction and thereby leading to enhancement of sales. According to some retailers, customer experience drives revenue while analytics focuses on an organization's commitment in terms of value to the customers.

 Audi representative Aaron Cohen (the company's general manager of strategy and analytics) explained the process of optimizing customer experience and hence the importance of data blending. Companies are shifting their focus to freemium services, open source platforms for valuable insights. In this context, Monobina Saha (senior data engineer at Sears) highlighted the significance of R-programming among data scientists.

Read more at: http://www.cmswire.com/analytics/how-are-you-capitalizing-on-customer-analytics/

The modern era is a digital one and it's often heard that if someone isn't digitizing his organization then he would perhaps lose his competitive edge.  The structure of an enterprise plays a crucial role in digitization. This structure and strategy ensures whether the resources are successfully assigned and also that the company is moving in the right direction. Various firms are arranged into vertical aligned business which poses severe challenges for them and hence nowadays digital transformation team arranges them horizontally to generate beneficial impact for the organization. In spite of several disadvantages, the digital business presents a new set of scopes and opportunities. It is not only cultural transformation but also a technical one. 

To know more about digital transformation, please follow the link: https://channels.theinnovationenterprise.com/articles/7501-digital-transformation-the-ftse-way

With more than three million Americans being affected with Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) and the virus posing serious challenges to reducing the costs of disease management and control, recent research from University of Michigan is promising some hope. By making the use basic EHR data, predictive analytics algorithms can now flag the affected patients who are at high risk of developing complications from the virus. Although one-third of the HCV patients are at risk, all the patients are treated which lead to huge unnecessary healthcare spending. This is where the predictive analytics model is expected to be of great use. Further integration of the model with EHR will enable the providers to deliver more targeted treatment and a chronic disease management plan can chalked out. Read more :- http://healthitanalytics.com/news/predictive-analytics-identify-high-risk-hepatitis-c-patients

Just like other areas of economy, marketing, too, has been impacted significantly by the growth of data analytics. Although the importance of analytics has been recognized in marketing, yet it is observed that in most cases the tools are not being used efficiently. For this, aligning data with the goals of the company needs to be done. Secondly, the smooth transition from big data to useful data and determination of the relevant metrics and adoption of those metrics are required. And last but not the least, hiring of the right people with analytical and creative minds to properly use the data is imperative. Read more: http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnrampton/2015/06/21/how-can-cmos-make-sense-of-big-data/

Industries are growing techno-savvy and understanding that being able to gather, identify, and comprehend patterns in data is critical for their long-term success. We are finally entering an age of data-powered farming that work on open data sets of weather and yields, IoT, drones and smart agricultural machinery. Such digital tools are becoming as important as traditional tools in the agricultural sector. IoT sensors are also helping companies predict and manage risk for automobile policies in real-time. Governments and industry are cooperating to share data on natural catastrophes in the hope to predict them. Drones are even being used to inspect and manage energy sites like turbines and rigs. Governments too will start using Big Data for evidence-based policy making. Read more at: http://yourstory.com/2015/06/big-data-unleashing-value-for-startups/

Healthcare Analytics Market has been predicted to have tremendous potential over time with low cost and improved population health. Survey report gives an increase in analytics adoption rate though many still don't use predictive modelling techniques. Data integration is required to derive analytical value which comes as a big challenge. Data Breeches and Data Security is a lesser factor than the former one since enterprises take their own data. But this factor works when external data is taken into account. People with a unique combination of statistics training, technology skills, and data knowledge are also required in large number. Also, infrastructure improvement for analytics must be done according as many healthcare decision makers. Thus analytics is getting much priority in healthcare in recent times. Read more about this article at:  http://www.cio.com/article/2904270/healthcare/healthcare-analytics-4-things-impacting-the-adoption-rate.html

A recent survey has revealed that brands active on social media gather bad reputation for their qualitatively poor customer service. Brands should improvise techniques to improve customer service keeping in mind the statistics revealed by the survey. Brands should allow people to post on their pages in social media only if they intend to review and respond to those. Responding to queries could simply involve thanking the customer for their valuable feedback and also complaints should be never left unattended. Customer service team should be made a part of the social media so as to provide a better social media customer service. Read more at: http://www.business2community.com/social-media/state-social-media-customer-service-experience-01251083

Marketing is an important way to reach out to customers. But start-ups may find it difficult to splurge a huge amount of money for marketing. So here goes a list of 5 pocket-friendly marketing techniques: i) Social media as it is an entirely free and easy-to- learn resource. ii) Conferences are also a good platform to share knowledge about one's organization with other business people. iii) Companies can offer free trial of their services or a free sample of their product. iv) Word of mouth from influential people. v) Providing customers with the proper description of their product or service and its usefulness. Read more at: https://channels.theinnovationenterprise.com/articles/5-tips-for-marketing-on-a-budget

Business decisions in modern times are being taken on the basis of appropriate data analysis and projections, which are generated by crunching the data. But business leaders need to stop and think once about the quality of the data; the most important factor because all the forecasts and predictions are done in the light of the data. So here are some points which should be kept in mind before starting data processing. They are: • The source of the data, i.e. survey/ public domain data etc. should be known correctly.

• Purpose of data collection: objective of data collection should be clear.

• Data collection method should not have any sampling bias.

• The nature and scope of the data should be clear. Read more at: Business decisions in modern times are being taken on the basis of appropriate data analysis and projections, which are generated by crunching the data. But business leaders need to stop and think once about the quality of the data; the most important factor because all the forecasts and predictions are done in the light of the data. So here are some points which should be kept in mind before starting data processing. They are: • The source of the data, i.e. survey/ public domain data etc. should be known correctly.

• Purpose of data collection: objective of data collection should be clear.

• Data collection method should not have any sampling bias.

• The nature and scope of the data should be clear. Read more at:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/27/simple-questions-about-data_n_7453668.html?ir=India&adsSiteOverride=in

Big data is now helping recruiters to develop a system of fair recruitment procedure which minimizes any kind of discrimination. Acquiring and retaining talent is an important factor when it comes to human capital management. Often it is seen that the talent of many applicants or employees go unnoticed due to certain forms of discrimination or bias.  Data driven procedures and predictive analytics are making remarkable impact in reducing such discrimination in organizations. Various attributes within the organization such as revenue contribution, pay gap, additional benefits received, risk of resigning etc.  are being monitored continuously and algorithms being are designed to pin point events when a hardworking employee is not appreciated. To know more read: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anne-loehr/big-data-for-hr-can-predi_b_6905754.html?ir=India&adsSiteOverride=in

Data analytics is no longer limited to the field of business and market research but it has spread across the financial sector as well. Stock market investors are using data driven insights and predictions to make crucial investment decisions. By observing the market conditions and various metrics related to it, the data scientists are being able to come up with accurate inferences about the market, and the data analysis is becoming increasingly precise and data intensive.  This is due to the availability of financial data and decreasing cost of information technology. The growth of analytics in this sector is likely to continue and is going to revolutionize the way financial trading is done. To know more read: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/irene-aldridge/why-big-data-matters-in-f_b_7553438.html?ir=India&adsSiteOverride=in

We know how big data has helped organizations achieve big success in almost every field. Today, when everyone is in a race to establish a competitive edge over the other, businesses want their data and analytics to be real time or near real time so that they can act quickly. Mary Shacklett, president of Transworld Data, elaborates for us four ways real time analytics lead to competitive advantages. They are:

• Buying Preferences

• Network Intrusion detection and forensics

• Logistics Orchestrations

• Predictive maintenance

To know what these systems had in common follow the link http://www.techrepublic.com/article/4-ways-real-time-analytics-lead-to-competitive-advantages/

The healthcare sector is now exposed to data breaches as it has adopted the online mechanism, for maintain health records or say for remote patient monitoring. Data breaches are not only expensive in terms of costs incurred by the healthcare provider but also in terms of patients' lives. Data analytics helps in interpreting unstructured data, which may help to prevent not only data breaches but also (say, medical prescription) frauds.  Big data analytics allows organizations to amalgamate and analyze their data irrespective of the source, type, size or format and finally understand the patterns needed to address fraudulent activities. Again, by updating, pharmacies, doctors, and hospitals on data insights, concerning substance history information of patients, it is possible to take better prescribing decisions and identify potential prescription drug abuse. Read more at: http://venturebeat.com/2015/03/31/big-data-analytics-can-prevent-health-care-fraud-heres-how/

Sigmaway consultants have worked with clients in benefits solutions workspace providing analytics on healthcare plans. For more details visit http://www.sigmaway.us/

Smartphones are fantastic examples of devices whose success largely depends on the performance it delivers. Big data researchers are working towards developing the network, computing and cloud architecture required to sustain their projects. The sheer volume of data generated by us doubles every two years and there is an urgency to make storage devices manageable and affordable. SSA (Solid State Array) at the hardware level and SDS (Software-Defined Storage] at the software level are becoming quickly affordable. With the evolution of in-device memory, a variety of data will now come into light that may revolutionize the applications of Big Data in the mobile industry. In-memory databases will allow real-time analytics and awareness of the ‘live’ transaction data – rather than delayed ‘fact-based’ analysis of old data. Read more at: http://www.forbes.com/sites/howardbaldwin/2015/06/22/flash-ways-to-make-big-data-run-faster/

Social media marketing is tough and takes time to work, but it's not impossible to make it work. These days' entrepreneurs face difficulties while using the social media practices for their marketing plan. When social media doesn't work for any organization then they should try to find the solution to this problem.

Mandy Edwards (founder of ME Marketing Services, a social media marketing company located in Statesboro, Georgia) in her article in business2community.com lists out the various reasons at why the social media marketing does not work which are as follows:

  1. You're trying to do every platform.

 2. You are broadcasting sales pitches instead of building relationships.

3. You are doing too much online.

4. You're trying to do it all yourself- and run your business.

Read more at: http://www.business2community.com/social-media/4-reasons-social-media-marketing-may-not-be-working-for-your-business-01252403

Marketing automation is software and tactics that enable companies to nurture prospects with highly personalized and useful content that helps convert prospects to customers and turn customers into delighted customers. It therefore makes for a highly profitable investment when it comes to adding value to the existing CRM solution. Eric Scott Johnston, analyst with Studio B, in an article on Inside-CRM blog talks about the takeaways from automated content marketing:

• Improve lead quality by reducing the number of unqualified leads.

• Develop great customer insights

• and finally when all things fall in place, companies retain their customers. 

For more on this piece follow the link  http://it.toolbox.com/blogs/insidecrm/3-ways-automated-content-marketing-can-benefit-your-crm-solution-67854 

The future of analytics seems to be brighter with IoT data, it's near real speed analysis and complex event processing systems. But, where exactly is IoT analytics going. Michael Hummel, co-founder and CTO of ParStream, talks future of IoT analytics. Daniel Gutierrez has summarized his talks in an article on Inside BigData highlighting the 4 predictions Michael made:

• Big data, fast data and more analytics

• Horizontal integration and vertical application 

• Decentralization

• Integration of advanced analytics and Machine learning

For more on this piece, follow the link http://insidebigdata.com/2015/05/28/and-this-is-the-future-of-iot-analytics/

Planning before working out is the most basic idea. A planner successfully merges both aesthetics and practical planning. But a strong design comes from the collected data. Combining user and sales data, Ford F-150 has been designed to reduce weight and increase sustainability which are made keeping in mind both environmental and business sense. Though A/B testing was a popular method of creating effective marketing choices due to its manufacturing constraints, companies nowadays use data gathered by observing public interest to create new products or make changes to earlier products. With increasingly complex algorithms, architectural design is now getting more accurate. With faster computing power, various tests can be done to establish strength and quality. Read more about this article by Chris Towers (Big Data Divisional Head) at:  https://channels.theinnovationenterprise.com/articles/designed-by-data

Cut throat competition- a phrase that is enough to describe the fierce competition in today`s business scenario. Regardless of which industry one belongs to, their competitors are always there, and keeping track of their activities and decisions, most importantly searching for their customers. So it is important for business leaders to monitor the activities of their rivals as well, and keep a tab on their competitors, in order to retain customers. There are many tools for monitoring, one such tool is spyfu, which can be used to track down what the opponents are searching online. Another way is to use the social media, such as observing what the competitors are doing in public forums and how people are responding to that. To know more, read: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brett-relander/know-your-competition-wit_b_7555660.html?ir=India&adsSiteOverride=in

In today`s business world, time is a precious resource, so there is increasing demand for a faster system of data analysis. An emerging open source analytics tool called spark is slowly gaining popularity and is being used for getting faster results obtained from big data analysis. Earlier many companies used and relied on Hadoop for processing and analyzing information, which used to take days to arrive at a meaningful inference. The spark analytics technology uses a completely different technique for storing data than Hadoop, with spark data is directly written in the memory rather than storing in disks, which increases the speed of data analysis remarkably.  There are also other interesting technological features for which spark is gaining attention.To know more read:  http://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2015/06/03/spark-a-tool-at-big-datas-cutting-edge-helps-under-armour-perform-faster-analytics/?KEYWORDS=analytics