By Nandini Gattam and Neha Singh
Long gone are the days when mankind was the only superior form of species on our planet. Now, it is the ‘data kind’ that is ruling the planet. What one can do with data is amazing. Analytics would have been an alien term 10 years back.
But thanks to the analytics revolution, the manner in which world dynamics are changing is unimaginable. So, what’s the scenario now? Is analytics still an alien concept? Or is it time we upgrade our skill set to be on the top rack? Before answering this, just imagine the scenario shared below.
What Analytics can do?
It is 2020, the world is fast-moving, and every single minute is precious. You need to take a cab to the airport for an early morning flight the next day. You try pre-booking the cab. The app says it would take 2 hours to travel 50 km. You think it is an error because in the past you have reached the airport in less than an hour. You curse the app and book the cab based on your experience. Come the day of travel, you board the cab and half an hour into the commute, you are stuck. There is a heavy traffic jam. You sit there blaming yourself as you realize you have missed your flight. Now, you pull out your phone and try to find the reason. Ah, there it is! The yearly procession is taking place. No wonder the app said the travel time will be 2 hours during booking. What you could not think of, the app had already thought out accurately. Now, you are impressed with what predictive analytics can do!
Analytics: The Panacea for Various Industries?
The power of analytics to fathom huge data, draw logical conclusions, and enable better decision making has led to its adoption in several industries. Today this technology is being heavily used in the retail sector, travel & tourism industry, media and even in the healthcare sector.
Healthcare
The adoption of analytics in healthcare has opened the doors for the smart healthcare system. This has not only simplified the process of the hospital and patient management; but also brought down the overall cost involved in disease diagnosis. Especially when it comes to tracking and retaining donors, the role of analytics in healthcare is highly critical.
Insurance
The risk of fraud is inherent in the insurance industry. By identifying the risk of fraud, anticipating market trends, and providing enhanced pricing & risk selection – insurance analytics has reduced the underwriting expense by around 60%. This explains why close to two-thirds of insurers have switched to analytics. Analytics also enables insurers to target potential markets, provide personalized customer experience, and most of all focus on customer loyalty.
Supply Chain
One sector which has been hugely revolutionized by this technology is the supply chain systems. By transforming data into real-time insights, supply chain analytics provide a competitive advantage to organizations. The data-driven intelligence provided by analytics improves forecast accuracy but also enhances service levels.
Sports
Another exciting area where analytics has made a mark is that of sports. Your favorite team just won the world cup. You are amazed to see that one of your colleagues has rightly guessed who would win. Was it just luck or his sheer love for the team? It is neither. Thanks to the predictive models and trend analysis available, you can now determine an individual player’s as well as the team’s chances of winning the game. Not that it would be super accurate, but next time you would know where to place your bet. Welcome to the world of Sports Analytics!
These are just a few of the many industries which have improved their performance and changed the competitive game through analytics.
Are you ready for the new world getting shaped by Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning? Do you want to know more about AI for social good?