Prediction – Big year for analytics

Happy New Year! ’Tis the season to be making predictions about what the future holds for the analytics profession, and who better to do that than a trio of experts in predictive analytics who contributed their insights to this issue of Analytics magazine?

Glenn Wegryn, president of the Analytics Section of INFORMS and principal at Analytic Impact LLC, is the first to look into the crystal ball for his column, “Top 5 analytics predictions for 2015.” Wegryn sees another winning year for the profession as the demand for analytics skills continues to grow. Wegryn expects analytics programs to continue to pop up at business schools throughout the United States in response to the demand, and that the INFORMS Certified Analytics Professional program will increase in importance as a certification of skills and experience.

Wegryn also expects the analytics community to move closer to a common definition of “analytics,” bridging the gap between the data-centric definition (What can the data tell us?) and the decision-centric version (What is the problem we’re trying to solve?).

Next, Andrew Jennings, chief analytics officer at FICO, offers “Five more predictions for 2015.” Jennings starts by noting that since the hype around big data has finally crested, big data and analytics will become “business as usual” and “more companies will cultivate in-house analytic competencies and many will embrace analytics as an important part of their company cultures.”

Our third prognosticator, independent consultant and business advisor Rajib Ghosh, focuses on the healthcare industry in his column, “What to expect in 2015.” Ghosh predicts a “great year for healthcare analytics professionals,” and that providers, not payers, will drive the market for analytics.

“Gaining market share has become the new mantra for the insurance companies,” Ghosh writes. “They are also busy trying to find new business models for the future. Big providers are under immense pressure to improve their bottom line in the new world of the Affordable Care Act and government-driven payment reform.”

As for me, I’ll pass on making any predictions about what the future holds for analytics, both the profession and the online magazine you’re now reading. Instead, I’ll quote another scientist you might have heard of:

“I never think of the future, it comes soon enough.” – Albert Einstein