Abstract
Despite all the hoopla around Big Data these days, the fact is, there is nothing dramatically new about having data at our fingertips. What is new, the authors argue, is that modern technology has increased the types of data that can be collected and made it cheaper, easier and faster to collect, store and analyze that data. They define three key realms of data: Descriptive, Predictive and Prescriptive, and show that progressing to the Prescriptive realm is the best way to enable a 'scientific' approach to business. They show that data and analytics are only valuable if they are used to generate insights, learning and evidence that inform business decisions-and that managers have a critical role to play: ensuring that their organization's analytics are motivated by the key decisions and challenges facing managers.
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Abstract
Despite all the hoopla around Big Data these days, the fact is, there is nothing dramatically new about having data at our fingertips. What is new, the authors argue, is that modern technology has increased the types of data that can be collected and made it cheaper, easier and faster to collect, store and analyze that data. They define three key realms of data: Descriptive, Predictive and Prescriptive, and show that progressing to the Prescriptive realm is the best way to enable a 'scientific' approach to business. They show that data and analytics are only valuable if they are used to generate insights, learning and evidence that inform business decisions-and that managers have a critical role to play: ensuring that their organization's analytics are motivated by the key decisions and challenges facing managers.