Think Customers: The 1to1 Blog

At the SAS Global Forum in Washington D.C. on Monday, Davis said as a result of the confusion, companies fall across eight levels of analytics. They include:

Level 1: Standard Reports. These are typically spreadsheets that tell what happened and when it happened.
Level 2: Ad-hoc reports. These ask, How many? How often? Where?
Level 3: Query drill-down or OLAP. These reports state where exactly the problem is and how to find answers.
Level 4: Alerts. When should I react? What actions are needed?
Level 5: Statistical Analytics. These ask, "Why?"
Level 6: Forecasting. What if these trends continue? How much is needed? When will it be needed?
Level 7: Predictive Modeling. What will happen next? How will it affect my business?
Level 8: Optimization. How do we do things better? What is the best decision for a complex problem?

Davis calls companies that operate within the first four levels "reactive." Those that exist in the top four levels are "proactive." So how can reactive companies transition into proactive ones?

Davis gave six steps to an organization's readiness to gauge their preparedness to evolve their analytical capabilities. Those six steps are:

1. Leadership. Are your executives going to be seen and "in the know?"
2. Transparency. Do you know where you stand and have you set clear goals? Tell a compelling story. Make sure you promote your successes. Use this as opportunity to involve your constituents and customers. "If you involve them, you will gain extraordinary insights and buy in," he said.
3. Infrastructure. Do you have the software and hardware? "Make sure that everything you do is scalable. It's not about pushing data in and getting results out."
4. Processes. Are they in place?
5. People. Do you have people who are committed to fact-based decisions? And do you have the skills necessary to leverage the data?
6. Culture. Is it conservative or aggressive? Will you embrace change?

Davis said companies have to look at things differently now and use the current economy as an opportunity to retool their businesses. "If we stick our heads in the sand, we'll be weaker than when we came in," Davis said. "Let's look at those things we can do well and improve upon. Let's asses our vulnerabilities and recognize that we can emerge from this in a much stronger place."