Merger Analytics solution for M&As

Why successful mergers and acquisitions harness analytics to drive engagement around a shared vision, while reducing the headaches of system integration.

The ideal merger of two organisations should be a 'match made in heaven', but how rare they are. It has been said that 'successful mergers are usually about people and culture'. But by the time the executives discover that one culture is largely incompatible with the other, the merger has already disintegrated into a 'hellish wedlock'. What a headache.

Maslow's Market Intelligence

We share an idea for how charities might become smarter in a networked world by using business intelligence concepts and a transparency index based on Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs.

There is no shortage of challenges facing charities. As humanity grapples with complex issues, it is through the power of networks that the not-for-profit sector can best address human needs. To make a greater impact, donors and charities should take a closer look at their organisation as one option in a marketplace of alternatives.

Entrenched poverty, food security and failing education systems are large-scale challenges that also present massive opportunities. Through open data, these opportunities can become more apparent as a form of market intelligence. In this blog post we hone in on how open data may be structured for the benefit of all.

Buy locally, my dear Watson

Investigating the potential of an artificial intelligence that could assist midsized organisations in making smarter purchases locally.

In the pursuit to save money, some of those responsible for procurement and purchasing have hopped on the bandwagon of offshoring and taken advantage of the globalisation of suppliers, neglecting their local economies. Consumers have been making similar choices, turning away from local purchasing toward buying online. What some may deem progress, others experience as draining the life out of their local High Street.

To achieve a mix of local and global, a clearer understanding of product/service's supply chain must be available, both for consumers, and those involved in business. Imagine the day when Watson, the cognitive computer that defeated humans at the quiz show 'Jeopardy' in 2011, develops a heart. Who knows, with IBM's recently announced business unit, The Watson Group, along with its $1 billion initial investment, anything may be possible in the years ahead.

Winning BIG with Self-Service BI

Experts indicate that midsized organisations can win BIG by outsourcing business intelligence to a self-service provider in the Cloud.

Business Intelligence has long been considered a challenge for midsized organisations. With costly systems overburdening IT departments, there is a failure to focus on the changing needs of business users. New business intelligence services in the Cloud are inviting IT departments to outsource their biggest data challenges to data specialists who can deliver a single version of the truth to multiple business users, on demand.

Decisions in the Age of Abundant Data

A summary of bite-sized insights and views about decision making from fresh articles around the web.

Over the last several months at Cause Analytics we have been scouting the web to bring you some helpful articles from experts in business intelligence. Today, our team will summarise several insights we have collected in our Google+ community in order to save you time and help your organisation with decision making.

You probably know of the debate between speedy decisions based on intuition versus slower decisions that draw upon evidence and rational deliberation. It's a complex debate because both sides have a role to play in various contexts, but in the 'Age of Abundant Data', business intelligence can aid you on your quest for faster results. As analytics and algorithms increasingly offer practical predictions, executives and managers will be able to act upon these predictions to communicate decisions reflexively, and perhaps, intuitively.

Keeping your job in the technology race

Creativity and social intelligence will be needed to adapt to an increasingly automated and unequal world.

If you hate chores, then Roomba's suggestion, 'Let a robot do your dirty work' may strike you as a welcome solution. From automated vacuum cleaners to robots that wash windows and mow lawns, accelerating automation is not only eliminating your time-wasting chores, but your jobs. How do you plan to keep yours?

Saving Lives: Business Intelligence for Healthcare

The NHS needs to save lives and save money by innovating with business intelligence.

In the summer of 2012, Orlando Agrippa was recognised by TechWeekEurope for implementing a public sector business intelligence project at the Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust (CHUFT). Acting as the social director of Business Informatics, Agrippa, rebuilt ageing IT infrastructure and introduced analytics into the Trust’s everyday operations by introducing business intelligence solutions.

The project at CHUFT has saved the hospital over £30,000 in reporting costs, as well as contributed to the reduction of mortality rates. Reporting that used to take over 200 hours has been reduced by 70 per cent. He has seen the benefits of the platform's ‘associated model’, which allows users to "link data in a natural, logical way [so that if] you wanted to know what the length of stay within the organisation was, you can do that in 3-4 clicks.”

Mobile Shoppers with Smart Assistants

In a future when shoppers have the assistance of artificial intelligence, will you have the Big Data to guide them to your store?

How often do you see someone shopping at a store with a smartphone in hand? Mobile devices will continue to augment customer experiences in ways that retail executives ought to know about. Consider a scenario: A future when the tastes of mobile-empowered customers are satisfied with the help of intelligent personal assistants. As smartphones grow smarter with apps like Siri and Google Now, users will shop more intelligently with greater satisfaction.

Learning to Anticipate Change

Learning to anticipate change is a challenge in complex environments. Business intelligence and predictive analytics can help make sense of the signals.

We have all heard, "A smooth sea never made a skilful sailor". Well, for an analyst, a complex sea of data makes the skilful means of sensing evermore necessary. An analyst also needs a crew to help anticipate and navigate the changes that may arrive. These changes arise in three types of systems: simple, complicated, and complex.

3D Printing the Internet of Things

The world of 3D printed things is steadily growing. Awareness of this disruptive innovation is rising and it is becoming difficult to ignore. From printed shells for hermit crabs to printed homes for people, one wonders, will everything soon be printable?

Internet of Things: Getting a better sense of the opportunity

The Data Strategist of Cause Analytics, David Pidsley, shared a cool article in the Anticipate Change community about how the adoption of wireless and battery-free sensor platforms in industrial settings are resulting in the “real meat and potatoes” use cases behind big data. The article from Practical Analytics focuses on the 1% efficiency gains of the "Industrial Internet" advocated by GE. Have a look at the infographic.

Managing a Black Swan Event

When catastrophes strike, organisations may 'fall apart'. Managers may try to prevent the 'breakdown' and sustain operations, but in the aftermath of a disaster, no simple 'fix' may restore the previous order. A mechanistic-view of organisations leaves managers ill-equipped to handle the consequences of an unexpected event, yet it remains a common view in spite of Black Swan events.

When organisations seize their signals

How can organisations best utilise data to navigate these rapidly changing times? Answering that question does not require us to entertain the successes, failures and potential futures of big data. It simply requires tools and capabilities that enable everybody to notice what busy executives sometimes fail to see.

The winds of disruptive innovation

Disruptive Innovation involves simplification. Clay Christensen, who coined the term, didn't quite put it that way, but explained how his theory represents the transformation of a complex and expensive product used by experts into something more accessible for a larger population.

In this way, it is also a strategic move. By targeting the bottom of a market with simplicity, the innovation disrupts the legacies of overly-complicated and costly competitors. You may enjoy hearing his examples in the following video.