Mar/Apr 2014

When it comes to analytics, organizations can use data insights on a strategic as well as an operational level. The 2011 film “Moneyball,” based on the best-selling book by Michael Lewis, tells the story of how Major League Baseball’s Oakland Athletics, on a limited budget, compiled an outstanding team of players using deep data analysis to drive their team-building strategy. The team then furthered their use of data to make day-to-day playing decisions based on analytic insights. This combination of strategic and operational analysis led the A’s to an outstanding performance – making the MLB playoffs and nearly beating the Yankees – with one of the lowest payrolls in baseball.

• Patrick Taylor

For those of you who still remember high school chemistry, you may recall that radioactive decay is an inherent property of all matter. And as a quantum physicist would tell you, while it is impossible to predict when a particular atom will decay, the chance that a given atom will decay is constant over time. We believe that the same principle holds true for information within an organization as well: While it is difficult to predict when a particular information entity (e.g., a set of data records) will lose its relevance for a decision-maker, it is certain that all information loses value over time.

• Dhiraj Rajaram
• Krishna Rupanagunta
• Aditya Kumbakonam

Predictive analytics software has become increasingly attractive as it has increased in capability and fallen in price. It is becoming so powerful that many enterprises consider it a must-have technology. As with any investment decision, however, mounting enthusiasm tends to mute the critics and skeptics who may have valid questions about the rationale.

• Warren Wilson

The United States is re-emerging as an energy superpower. According to the International Energy Agency, by 2016 the U.S. will surpass Saudi Arabia and become the world’s largest oil producer.

• Atanu Basu

In pondering an upcoming change of career (or at least employer), a good start is to follow Sutton’s Law, paraphrased in the apocryphal quote above and taught to medical students learning about diagnosis. In a more general form, it states something like, “first consider the obvious.” With regard to where jobs in analytics can be found, the obvious might include considering a mix of large, metropolitan cities and smaller, but technology-centric areas. While this proves to be a good approach, additional research yields results that are interesting, informative and potentially useful to anyone looking for a job in the analytics field.

• Scott Nestler, CAP-X

In today’s world, where globalization is a fact of business life, where competition is fiercely intense and where concerns such as energy security and climate change are global in scope, a science-based approach to decision-making and problem-solving is essential.

• Jonathan H. Owen
• David VanderVeen
• Lerinda Frost