Yesterday was Media Preview day here at the SAS world headquarters in Cary, NC, during which my PR colleagues from around the world hosted journalists for a sneak peak at the news prior to SAS Global Forum in Las Vegas. Part of the day’s events included a panel of three SAS customers representing very different industries, sharing very different perspectives on the value of analytics.
Any organization looking to adopt analytics technology will face the challenge of justifying the investment. Here are some reasons the panelists went to bat for bringing analytics into their organizations:
1: Because your (organization’s) life depends on it
Kristopher Kovaks is the Senior VP of Operations for Coastal Federal Credit Union, a member-owned, financial cooperative serving North Carolina. To him, the case was fairly plain: the credit union had its worst year in 2009, partly because of the high concentration of indirect loans it provides to car buyers. When the unemployment rate skyrocketed, Kovaks says, they became introduced to the painful concept of “jingle mail"– car keys that came in the mail from car owners who had lost their jobs and could no longer afford the payments. The justification came in the form of the credit union’s urgent need to analyze its portfolio and underwriting and insurance policies, and discover profitable ways to work with members to keep their loans active. Kovaks says the credit union rebounded from 2009 to have its best year in 2010.
2: To stop the bickering and get on with business
Or, if you prefer the politically correct version: “To provide all decision-makers with one version of the truth." Bobby Hull, Corporate Systems Analyst at BGF Industries, says that having a single, explicitly agreed-upon source for information reduces the debate among the leadership, who would all bring different data and interpretations to the table when it was time to make critical decisions.
3: To maximize your investment in your data
According to Hull, BGF Industries had always been good at data warehousing, but analytics is what helped the company actually gain a return on its investment in that data. And while he didn’t share an exact figure, his colorful follow-up says it all: “I can tell you what it was before [we started using business analytics]: zero."
4: To avoid missed opportunities
As the Chief Deputy Director and CFO of the North Carolina Museum of Art, Caterri Woodrum simply had to point her board of directors to the collection of spreadsheets that the museum was using at the time to make huge financial decisions. Especially when they were about to embark on a 127,000-square- feet museum expansion. Woodrum had made some early discoveries that the museum was undervaluing exhibitions at a time when funding was at a premium. Using business analytics, Woodrum says, the museum has captured its audience and knows what drives people to become active members, and how to price and discount those amenities. In fact, Woodrum cites that by the end of April, the museum will have reached 450,000 memberships— ahead of schedule for its plan to reach 500,000. My favorite quote from Woodrum: “Nonprofits are not about making no profits—they have to deliver results."
Read the full story about how the NC Museum of Art is using SAS.
