Advanced analytics is rapidly becoming a popular tool for business leaders looking to leverage the benefits of generating more insights on delivering more solid decision-making processes.

All businesses are capable of collecting data on their customers and market and even their competitors. There is a huge amount of data available with the potential to create insights if analysed in the correct manner. Having the data is, however, only the first step and will have little value without effective analysis. The latest technology developments in terms of visualisation, machine learning and more means of analytics have radically transformed and are in a much more powerful position than it was several years ago.

Advanced analytics enables businesses to add value and reliability to the decision making process. It reduces the risk and defines the probability of events or scenarios occurring, which is very valuable to a business. It combines various processes and tools that enable the data collected to be reshaped into patterns, trends, anomalies and key insights to allow decision making to be executed with more precision and accuracy than ever before.

Advanced analytics applies various techniques and processes to convert data into insights. Big data analytics utilises large pools of structured or unstructured data, examining the information to define key areas requiring further focus and analysis. Data mining involves extracting useful data from its raw form and analysing the information to determine the importance, impact and relevance of these datasets. This is where predictive analytics comes into play, enabling businesses to apply machine learning tools to existing and old data to define a prediction model that enhances business outcomes. Generally, the more data available, the more accurate predictions are for a business. While predictive analytics cannot represent exactly what will happen in the future, it provides a range and possibilities that could occur based on the decisions taken by a business.

Whether your a commercial enterprise or government organisation, advanced analytics represents a strong platform for enhanced decision making, improved investment choices and better governance plans. A simple example of advanced analytics is how it is effectively applied to online retail and other media services. Online platforms display recommended relevant items to purchase or content to digest, usually using advanced analytics to track and monitor user behaviour and determine other interest areas for the user. This information is useful to the customer and business and can result in additional revenue generation and higher engagement. With user experience being critical, advanced analytics is generating a win-win situation for both customers and businesses.

Advanced analytics can be applied to various areas of businesses. A priority is creating more efficient and smarter decisions, supporting people with understanding which areas require improvement and will ultimately increase business success. Risk is another significant area for businesses to focus on. Advanced analytics enables companies to have a clear understanding of trends and factors that influence the level of risk. This information is valuable in creating processes, policies or business plans that can support better governance and compliance.

Advanced analytics is accelerating in popularity as more businesses explore the benefits of gathering more insights and generating effective decisions. Organisations understand that data is a valuable asset but the challenge remains the same, applying affective and useful analysis continues to be a priority for delivering the results they require.