Toward better business: the secret world of analytics

Is analytics really a secret weapon for business? Well, yes and no.

Yes - as the insights from analytics can assist every area and department in an organisation to make better decisions that reduce costs and improve revenue. Add to that, the fact that most organisations from small to large, now have an analytics team of some description, you could say it is a secret weapon (maybe not so secret now). 

And No – while the analytics derived insights can be ground breaking, if the organisation is unable or unwilling to act on those insights then the analytics team is just another cost (and destined for an unhappy future).

So it’s the combination of an organisation supportive of analytics and the team that could be the secret weapon for business. As a analytics professional, you’re already part of a team (even if it’s a team of one) delivering insights, so how can you help develop an analytics supportive organisation?

The IAPA Conference morning keynote session, “How the c-suite really views the role of analytics”, gives you first hand perspectives of what it takes for analytics professionals to impress the c-suite and what a data-driven leader wants from their analytics team.

Later in the day, hear how Genevieve Elliott, General Manager – Data, Analytics and Customer Strategy, and her team at Vicinity Centres (the home of $26B in retail assets such as Chatswood Chase, Chadstone Shopping Centre, Queens  Plaza, Emporium Melbourne and DFO Homebush and South Wharf) is adding value to the organisation by harnessing the available data to provide better insights to centre management and retailers.

In a recent article Genevieve noted that “data and analytics are giving Vicinity a competitive edge through a better understanding of consumers and helped Vicinity Centres solve problems around its B2B and B2C products as well as help it find efficiencies in its own operations.” 

As part of her presentation at the IAPA Conference, Genevieve will also touch on how the Vicinity Centre values data as an asset in the same way as retail shopping centre assets.

“As a property company we have huge exposure to assets. I do think data has a value just like [physical assets] do. Certainly from a philosophy or ethos perspective that’s the way we treat our data internally. So we describe it as an asset. We describe the actions that will improve the value of the asset and the actions that will diminish the value of the asset.” Read more in her published article here

From the organisation’s approach to data as an asset, the Conference sessions also explore understanding if AI and machine learning is right for your business.

In one of the closing keynotes, Davis Bloch, GM Advanced Analytics, Fonterra, will discuss what the implications of advanced analytics, AI and machine learning are for the organisation and how the analytics team plays a vital role in that organisational journey.