business analytics

Running head-business Analytics 1

Business Analytics

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Business Analytics

Business Analytics commonly abbreviated as (BA) is an iterative and methodical research of an organization’s data. It uses mostly statistical data analysis methods to give quality results. Business Analytics is meant to help companies whose decision-making process is data-driven. With large volumes of data, an organization might make an uninformed decision that could lead to the company making a loss or providing inferior services (Seddon, Constantinidis, & Dod, 2012). Through the utilization of Business Analytics, a company maximizes its business operation through making informed business decisions. This data may be their client base, their sales volumes, their sales patterns, their rate of innovations and the products in the market.

Every business is coordinated and made effective by the kind of decision the company makes. A company aiming for success must consider the current decision for they impact the achievements of the future in terms of market placement, employees’ retention and regulatory compliance. Data-driven organizations are very sensitive to their data and treat it as a cooperate asset and uses it to compete other companies. According to Seddon, Constantinidis, & Dod (2012), Business Analytics has four main roles in an organization that makes its application useful to a company. These roles include; data mining, predictive modeling and analysis, statistical analysis and multivariate testing.

Data mining is the process of researching data to come up with new relationships and patterns that can be used by an organization to make better decisions. Shanks, & Bekmamedova (2012) put is clear that Business Analytics provides organizations with new trends and ways of analyzing data so as to make good decisions. It also predicts future results of applying the analytics through a process known as predictive modeling and analysis. Business Analytics seeks to explain why certain results occur to an organization through Statistical analysis. Through understanding why certain results have occurred a business organization can finger out which decision to make. It also tests the decisions that the organization makes to weigh their effectiveness. Through this testing process, an organization gets a clear example of how to make effective decisions.

According to Shanks, & Bekmamedova (2012), the process of Business Analytics begins after the goal of the analytics is defined. The goal is the purpose intended to be achieved at the end of the Business Analytics. It might be hard to get an answer to why certain results occurred. After determining the goal, a methodology is selected upon which data is acquired to reinforce the analysis. The analysis process is done against a sample set of data which is usually small. In the analytics tools used include applications with an ability to predict modeling and spreadsheets that can handle statistical and complex data mining. Business Analytics helps in making tactical decisions to unforeseen events that might happen in the future. Some of these decisions require real-time response hence the Business Analytics is automated to handle such situations.

To expound on the importance of Business Analytics, IBM Company and Toshiba Company will be used as sample organizations. IBM Company is an American international company that deals with machines manufacturing (computers). It is also a multinational technology consulting firm with its headquarters in Armonk, New York. Toshiba is also an international company that deals with manufacturing of computers. It is located in Tokyo, Japan. IBM Company has been applying Business Analytics over a period of time which has helped the company remain competitive and top in Information Technology (IT) market (Shanks, & Bekmamedova, 2012).

To remain competitive in the IT field where many businesses are growing at exponential rates the company has to increase its information gathering and analysis process. Through Business Analytics IBM Company has been able to build competitive strengths in this interconnected and intelligent world. Through the use of Business Analytics, IBM has been able to utilize the readily available information on its target customer and market, quality of employees, and manufacturing standards to its advantage. The IMB Company has used Business Analytics to improve its operations in serving their customers which has been of great help to the company. The company is large and it is believed to have massive data bank. It is through the analytics that the company has been able to evaluate the data and analyze it for past, present and planning. The correct administration of their data has provided the insight to their entrepreneurial growth. In addition, the use of analytics has enabled the company to target print and online promotions that have made it the most popular IT Company (Seddon, Constantinidis, & Dod, 2012).

On the other hand, Toshiba has not been able to compete effectively in the market. This problem is a result of not knowing the exact number of products to produce. The decision making has been a big problem since they deal with lump sum amount of data which has not been properly managed to its advantage (Shanks, & Bekmamedova, 2012). Also, the company has not been able to predict future business trends that have led to its slow growth.

The use of analytics has helped the IBM Company accomplish its goals. It has achieved its goals because it is has been able to improve its operations through effective decision making. To capture more customers, the company has been able to use analytics to focus on online promotions. Further promotions depend on the past data that the analytics provide. It is with this organized data that the company has been able to predict on its future trends thus making an effective decision to promote their products internationally. Also, it has made the company competitive in the market since it is able to work on set strategies on the number of products to produce and on which line. Information retrieval has been easy due to the use of well-developed databases and cloud computing (Shanks, & Bekmamedova, 2012). Use of databases has improved its operations in serving the customers since the information is stored in a systematic manner for fast retrieval.

There are various challenges that face entrepreneurs today. These challenges include cash flow management, strapped budget, marketing strategy, making a choice on what to sell etc. Business Analytics has made it easier for business and entrepreneurs to solve these challenges. IBM Company had faced several similar challenges before it resolved using Business Analytics. The management was unable to estimate the knowledge and SWOT Analysis of their product (Seddon, Constantinidis, & Dod, 2012). The inability to estimate their demand, led to a fluctuating production that affected their customers’ needs. Also, the company was faced with a strapped budget. This situation meant that the company’s budget was not enough to suit its needs.

Cash flow management was another challenge to the company since the company lacked proper cash flow records. To manage the cash flow, the company recorded and analyzed their sales pattern which led to increase in cash inflow into the company and less cash out flow (Seddon, Constantinidis, & Dod, 2012). Business Analytics is very useful to businesses and each business should embrace it in order to improve its operations. Most challenges facing businesses today can be solved through business data analysis.

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