 Butler Group's research analyst Michael Azoff recently published a report on
the value of having an integrated Enterprise Platform for Predictive Analytics
(EPPA) in place:
“The EPPA addresses a growing problem in the enterprise: knowledge has
been built up through applying analytics to a vast repository of information
that has accumulated over time, but while gaining this knowledge is important,
there remains an inability to execute on it. The source of this problem may be
the quantity of knowledge itself, or the fact that introducing automation to
make use of this knowledge is a non-trivial undertaking, and most organisations
are not geared up to developing custom execution solutions without considerable
effort. However, without implementing some form of action on the knowledge gained,
all the effort so far spent is wasted. This is where an EPPA particularly shines:
it has integrated tools that help carry through the final leg of the journey
from raw data to action. Also, through closed-loop analysis, an EPPA can ensure
that the strategy it offers is continually being refined.
Thus the core philosophy of the EPPA follows a three-step process:
Understand, Predict, and Act. - Gather data from operational processes and systems, including
CRM data, customer service information, financial and risk statistics
etc. This detailed information on customers, products, and events
is stored in enterprise data repositories.
- Analyse this data source, which involves a historical analysis,
but crucially, also a predictive element. Predictive tools can
analyse data and offer business operations guidance on where
a process is heading, or on the likelihood of certain events
occurring, such as risk assessments of customer applications.
- Take action based on the predictions. By integrating the EPPA
with business processes it is possible for recommendations to
be made in real-time so that operational systems and operational
staff can act on the knowledge gained.
The real-time aspect is important, as there are many situations,
e.g. in a call centre, where decisions need to be made on the spot
by agents as a customer is being handled live. Having the EPPA
provide guidance on the screen in a matter of a few seconds can
make a big impact on operational performance. Thus, the action an EPPA can produce covers business rules that
are combined with predictions to steer decision-making on the fly,
ensuring that the recommendations are efficiently delivered at
the right point in time, to the right people or systems, and to
have an impact. The technology enables the bringing together of
the past and present analysis with future projected outcomes, defines
the desired outcome in the context of the stated business goals,
and delivers the optimal decisions and related support information
to the systems and people who can take appropriate action.” Download Butler Group’s Technology Audit on the EPPA here. |
