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Skinning “analytics,” the word

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“Analytics,” the term, has been twisted so badly that Wayne Eckerson last month felt moved to rescue it with a definition. Rather, two definitions, possibly more.

One definition is capitalized, the other is not. What “analytics” might mean in italics, all caps, or underlined he doesn’t say.

Whatever the typography, Wayne just might have the stature to make it all stick. He’s been around the industry for nearly two decades, now as the TechTarget director of research and president of BI Leader Consulting. People know him, respect him, and like him.

The capital-A meaning takes the “macro perspective.” He says it’s “the processes, technologies, and best practices that turns data into information and knowledge that drives business decisions and actions.”… Read the rest “Skinning “analytics,” the word”

The Dow of BI

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I don’t mind long lines at trade show buffets. All else being equal, the length roughly equals attendance, which roughly indicates industry fizz. For an indicator, though, the analytics/business intelligence industry can do better than that.

How do we take the pulse? What if those who promote the technology, advise the clients, and build the systems actually measured their collective progress with a number? It would be an ongoing, forever-updating, simple benchmark. It would be the industry’s Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Four or five years ago, when the industry seemed simpler, I envisioned a number like this. Why not?

First hurdle: the lack of complete public data.… Read the rest “The Dow of BI”

At Zynga, analytics is about impact

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Anyone can play Zynga’s FarmVille and other games, but very few get to analyze the data that runs off.

Ken Rudin, VP of analytics and platform technologies, is always on the lookout for new talent, but he’s picky. What does he look for in an applicant?

“Knowing what questions to ask,” he says. He might present an applicant with a problem his staff is puzzling through and asks what approaches to take. Say the company has invested in a some game, and even though it did well at first, growth has flattened out. What would the applicant ask? A good answer is, “It flattened out compared to what?”… Read the rest “At Zynga, analytics is about impact”