In this issue of the President's Letter, Jeff discusses: Predictive Analytics: The Next Frontier in Business Intelligence Judy Homer President, JB Homer Associates

Predictive Analytics is a technology that not only gathers information about past outcomes, but uses the data to identify the likelihood of future outcomes based on historical data sets. Its application involves the practical use of data mining, machine learning, statistical algorithms, and artificial intelligence techniques, as well as business intelligence tools.

One industry in particular that benefits from this technology is in Retail where predictive data analysis can improve the supply chain by informing retailers of the exact supply and demand for certain products, and enhance the customer experience by pulling data from multiple sources to help build merchandising and marketing campaigns targeting consumers when they are most likely to buy. As a result, retailers are able to offer targeted discounts, promotions and segment-based pricing to different groups of consumers.

Predictive Analytics is evolving at an accelerated rate as access to relevant data has increased, and as new software platforms and associated hardware are introduced. Thus the next frontier of Predictive Analytics will likely include more specific applications focused on tracking consumer behavior, enhanced data visualization, greater integration with the Internet-of-Things and Social Media, and advanced custom reporting and business intelligence tools, which could benefit other consumer-centric industries such as Banking and Insurance.

Having the ability to better identify opportunities and being able to quickly and intelligently react to them should be a crucial component of a business strategy, and could be a game changer for companies that desire to go to the next level of predictions, ultimately providing them with improved profitability, customer satisfaction, productivity and risk mitigation.

What are your thoughts on the evolution of Predictive Analytics and how it can help businesses gain and maintain a competitive advantage?