In the business world, analytics help decision-makers tackle their operational and economic challenges, provide insight and help us make better decisions. Knowing what’s going on with your company through the use of analytics and having the insight that’s provided from your data is critical, that’s for sure. But these use cases for analytics aren’t exactly the most exciting events that everyone else outside of corporate walls can relate to. We know nothing beats hearing about how analytics helped to solve a light bulb stock issue in some far off warehouse in the middle of nowhere.
But we can find some cooler examples of analytics in action. Case in point, analytics is all over the sports world.
Yes, most people are familiar with Moneyball – which was the original BI or Big Data solution in many ways. The NBA has also been in the spotlight for its close association with analytics. In particular, in a funny yet misinformed rant, the ever-opinionated Charles Barkley called analytics “crap” in response to Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey’s defense of its value. Analytics are powerful – it can’t be denied! Check out this video of Barkley explaining his thoughts on analytics.
Despite what Chuck may think about the value of analytics, statistical analysis has been used at some point by most NBA teams, including the Dallas Mavericks, Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Houston Rockets (Barkley’s favorite squad) to help them perform better.
Mark Cuban, the world-famous owner of the Mavericks (and of Shark Tank lure), had this to say about analytics: “We started using advanced plus/minus to help us, and it started to help us quite a bit… it eventually helped us come back from a 2-0 deficit in the playoffs against Houston, based on what the numbers said.”
Another place where analytics has found a home? Hollywood.
Hollywood has been using analytics for a while to help them determine the best time to release a film. Back in 2013, Business Insider talked about how predictive analytics is influencing how Hollywood execs and producers decide to green light films. If comedies have been doing well during the Christmas season, chances are that a new comedy by Adam Sandler is going to be pegged for that release time. With $150 million and more often on the line, those data discoveries can mean everything.
Are you using analytics to provide the insight you need into your organization to perform better? We can help you get on the analytics path and reap the benefits! Contact us today to speak with one of our analytics experts – we believe that analytics are certainly exciting, let us show you how we can help your organization gain deeper insights today!