What is analytics?
Analytics is indeed a very much abused term today with every IT and ITES firm
trying to get into the so-called Analytics service. Its not that we have also
figured out a definition because the purist definition of analytics given below
is expanding as you read this on:
Analytics is the branch of logic dealing with analysis. Business analytics is
a term used for more sophisticated forms of business data analysis. Analytics
closely resembles statistical analysis and data mining, but tends to be based
on solving a specific business problem by systematically gathering relevant data
and information and analyzing it to take an informed business decision.
Can analytics really help make decisions? Most business decisions are driven
my market needs.
Analytics is usually a decision support tool, which help project the consequences
of a decision under a given set of assumptions. A business may take a particular
decision based on a business strategy, which no analytics can ever suggest. Analytics
can help businesses take informed decisions that could be a vital competitive
advantage.
What are the different activities that can be called Analytics?
Statistical analysis, which involves mathematical modeling and Research, which
includes both Secondary research (Syndicated reports, Web reports etc) as well
as Primary research (Surveys), can be classified as Analytics. Since analytics
typically required a lot of data handling and exploration a lot of reporting
which is not rule based and mostly exploratory can also be classified as analytics.
In-fact most business problems are answered using simple ways of looking at the
data rather than any complex mathematical modeling.
Which industry is Analytics most popular in?
Analytics is more sophisticated in industries that are data rich and need to
discriminate either the products or the customers. Financial institutions, Banking,
Retail, Insurance and Pharmaceuticals lead the way although Web Analytics is
fast gaining a lot of popularity.
Which domain is Analytics most Popular in?
Finance, Marketing, Sales and Supply Chain domain use analytics extensively.
Which areas in Analytics are growing rapidly in India today and what kind of
education one needs to get into Analytics?
Knowledge Process Outsourcing to India is leading to an explosion in demand for
people who are experienced in:
- Database Marketing
- Marketing Analytics
- Customer Analytics
- Financial Analytics
- Risk Analytics
- Supply Chain Analytics
- Primary Research
- Secondary Research
- Equity Research and Derivatives
- Clinical Trials and Research
- Bio-Informatics
- Pharmaceutical Research
- Spatial Analytics
Typically analytics attracts people who most Masters in Statistics/ Econometrics,
MBAs in Marketing or Finance and Engineers who have panache for numbers. Analytics
combines the Business context and Numerical ability and hence domain experts
from Marketing, Finance or Supply Chain do very well in Analytics.
Which are the major players in Analytics in India?
There are a lot of firms that are doing analytics related work in India. The
broad classifications would be:
Large MNC’s with Captive/Offshored Analytics teams:
Amex
Citibank
HSBC
Standard Chartered Bank
Fidelity
HP BPO Analytics
Dell
Amazon
RCI
Meritus (WPP group)
Large Third Party BPO + Analytics Services Providers:
Genpact
HP BPO Analytics
Symphony Services
Fractal Analytics
Global Analytics firms with their Indian Operations
Fair Issac
D&B Analytics
Global Analytics
Niche Analytics providers
Fractal Analytics
Inductis
Modelytics
Marketics
MuSigma
AbsolutData
DecisionCraft
CrossTab
Indian IT companies providing Analytics Services
IGate
Infosys
