Nov/Dec 2015

One of the most interesting trends in the analytics space today involves real-time analytics, and rightly so. The ability to analyze calls while they are in progress, and then provide the information the frontline staff can use to take immediate action, is a capability from which every contact center can benefit. The insights gleaned from a call while the customer is still on the line improves the agents and supervisors’ ability to remain compliant with regulations and policies, increase the effectiveness of their sales efforts and improve the overall customer experience.

• Larry Skowronek

Big data is the biggest game-changing opportunity and paradigm shift for marketing since the invention of the phone or the Internet going mainstream. Big data refers to the ever-increasing volume, velocity, variety, variability and complexity of information. For marketing organizations, big data is the fundamental consequence of the new marketing landscape, born from the digital world we now live in. The term “big data” doesn’t just refer to the data itself; it also refers to the challenges, capabilities and competencies associated with storing and analyzing such huge data sets to support a level of decision-making that is more accurate and timely than anything previously attempted: big data-driven decision-making.

• Mousumi Ghosh

Our world and that of our clients is a complex place and fraught with uncertainty. The rewards for innovation and improved efficiency are immense if they can be realized, but there is risk as well: Can the innovations be implemented amid the connections that tie our system to our partners and customers? To gain knowledge, we turn to analysis and to experimentation. Yet how can experiments be run when the world will not stand still to be questioned?

• James J. Swain

What does the oil and gas industry have in common with agriculture? More than you think. Both industries are influenced by Mother Nature in complex ways that we understand better every day. Advancements in computational technologies are making it possible to interpret information about nature’s impact on these industries in ways not possible just a few years ago.

• Atanu Basu
• Gabe Santos

Data reduction, or the distillation of multitudinous data into meaningful parts, is playing an increasingly important role in understanding the world around us and improving the quality of life. Consider the following examples:

• Will Towler

Accurate prediction of the future is the most important motto of predictive modeling. With the adoption of predictive modeling and analytics across different industries, the focus on accuracy has increased massively. Predictive modelers across the globe have been in search of newer and more innovative techniques to increase their prediction accuracy. Against this backdrop, one method to consider for improving the accuracy of model predictions is the ensemble approach of modeling.

• Anindya Sengupta