After a couple of solid days speaking to business leaders, listening to some of the world’s thought leaders and leading a panel discussion with the analytics leaders from DBS Bank, Allianz and Volvo Trucks, what have I learned about business analytics and what it takes to succeed?
The first clue came from outer space! Stephen Attenborough, Commercial Director of Virgin Galactic, the world’s first commercial spaceline. It wasn’t actually about the analytics, nor the strategy but rather about the dream! It led me to think about organizations who are leaders in their fields and how they also succeed. The galactic story is one of transforming dreams into realities, but underlying the romantic notion is hard hitting decision making, the transformation of an industry that has remained much the same for the past 60 years, and that takes vision and excellence in execution.
So what about the analytics? It became very clear throughout the conference that companies not only need to build that extraordinary vision - but then follow up with the analytics. You need to ensure the decisions taken in fulfilling a vision are fact-based, concise and executable. We learned that IT needs to continually deliver more sophisticated analytical applications to solve the problems posed by the business and often times transforming the enterprise.
