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As we mentioned in a previous blog, Predictive Analytics is More than a Magic Act, one of the impediments to predictive analytics success are company-wide misconceptions. These misconceptions can arise before a predictive analytics roll out even begins.

Predictive analytics certainly has the power to influence major decisions at the top. For instance, if a company is looking into a merger, executives may want to forecast the financial risks involved or evaluate the impact the move could have on consumer demands. Or if decision-makers are contemplating a change in their current business model, predictive analytics can help them identify new opportunities that could come with the change.

Tom Davenport, A well-known author of various books about the value of analytics shows that businesses see significant competitive advantage as they move from Descriptive Analytics through Predictive Analytics and then finally to Prescriptive Analytics.

 My husband and I were out to lunch at our local seafood restaurant the other day.  I overheard the conversation at the table next to me – 2 guys talking about Predictive Analytics!   WOW!  Predictive Analytics is finally lunchtime conversation!

I heard them talk about the businesses collecting massive amounts of “Big Data.”  And how “Correlation Engines” and “Predictive Analytics” could sift through this data to find interesting patterns that could be leveraged.  I also heard mention of Data Scientists, HADOOP, and programming in Mahout.