Business Analytics Uncommon insights

The steady evolution toward fact-based decision making is one of the most significant developments in business today. “Shooting from the hip” has lost its allure because running a business is complicated and there is much at stake.

For some, this development is a welcome change. For others, it is something to resist. The perspectives vary:

• Patterns of performance or too much information?
• New ways to reduce cost or new burdens?
• Faster, better decisions or more expensive systems?

Business analytics — the practice of using data to drive business strategy and performance — is a capability organizations can develop to extract more value from data with the goal of becoming more competitive and profitable. As a result, it may not be long before the use of fact-based decision making becomes the new normal for how organizations realize their strategic business objectives.

Going deeper

For most companies, business analytics capabilities may not be optional. Three powerful trends are driving this shift:

• Demand for consistent performance
• The need to proactively manage risk in a tougher regulatory environment
• Exponentially increasing volumes of data to process, understand and react

Many organizations have identified this new reality and started developing analytics capabilities; however, in most cases, they have been applied in only very targeted areas within the business. The challenge now is to extend those existing analytics capabilities deeper into the organization — from limited applications to organization-wide adoption through various levels of management and staff. This evolution requires focus and dexterity from organizations that are already grappling with plenty of other challenges.

How we can help

In our experience, effective business analytics requires three powerful engines: deep industry knowledge, broad functional capabilities and a high degree of technical sophistication. Deloitte brings a big-picture approach combining each of these strengths. We combine the science of business analytics with strategy-level insights and an understanding of how to bring analytics to the front lines of an organization.

Our experienced industry specialists can help clients identify which questions matter and where to find the answers. We bring advanced signal detection capabilities to engagements, allowing us to effectively detect and respond to signals embedded within business information. We focus on delivering “right fit” analytics that match statistical and analytic techniques to the job at hand, avoiding both overpowered solutions that waste time and money and underpowered solutions that can miss important insights.

We offer a broad range of services in four areas:

• Advisory analytics: Targeted acumen for determining game-changing strategies
• Transformational analytics: Inclusive solutions for affecting operations broadly
• Managed analytics: Hosted platforms enabling persistent attention on your core business
• Subscription analytics: Insights where and when you need them, using supplemental data or models

Bottom-line benefits

Business analytics capabilities range from the basics, such as data management and business intelligence, to more sophisticated capabilities, such as performance management, predictive modeling, asset intelligence and automation. With capabilities like these in place, companies may be positioned to:

• Gain more business insights to inform decision making
• Bring advanced analytics techniques, such as predictive analysis and regression modeling, within reach of a wider cross section of the organization
• Apply analytics to effectively address pressing industry challenges
• Strengthen data governance at each level of the organization
• Better anticipate and respond to business challenges as they emerge 
• Reduce costs through more methodical, data-driven decision making
• Use automation to reduce latency
• Use analytic capabilities and outcomes to support change management efforts
• Create a culture that thrives on fact-based decisions
• Better respond to and manage risks

Six ways to potentially get more value now

We have helped many types of organizations in their efforts to get more value from their business analytics efforts. A few lessons we have learned along the way: 

• Ask questions. Keen insights usually start with a particular question — a specific inquiry about a specific business challenge
• Monitor signal strength. Being able to detect and respond to signals better and faster can be important to generating competitive advantage from analytics
• Find the desired fit. Match statistical and analytical techniques to the job at hand. Overpowered solutions can waste time and money, while underpowered solutions can miss important insights
• Focus on users. Outputs of analysis should be pushed deep into the heart of the business, delivering the insights people need — in whatever forms they need — to make fact-based decisions. This is where user engagement and visualization can come in
• Automate to accelerate. Automate delivery of the information people need to do their work — and automate responses whenever possible so that action can be taken with more certainty and at the lowest possible cost, but do not go too far
• Cultivate a fact-driven culture. Embed analytics capabilities and outputs into processes throughout the enterprise. Drive a culture of discipline and accountability

Deloitte Analytics Institute

The Deloitte Analytics Institute provides thought leadership, methods, tools and innovative solutions to raise the eminence and capabilities of Deloitte in the business analytics marketplace.

Related insights

Deloitte has provided further insight on business analytics in the following publications:

• Irrational Expectations
• Clearing the Confusion
• Better Government Through Information Management

Related offerings

Deloitte provides services designed to help clients in the following areas:

• Application Management Services - Information Management
• Business Intelligence/Data Warehousing
• Channel Management
• Commercial Ins. Underwriting
• Customer Relationship, Cross-Sell
• Customer Insights/Relevancy
• Customer Experience
• CRM Technology Implementation
• Enterprise Content Management
• Enterprise Data Management / Master Data
• Integrated Performance Management (IPM)
• Inventory/Working Capital Optimization
• Logistics, Distribution, and Warehousing
• Marketing & Brand Effectiveness
• Network Optimization
• Performance Management Technology (PMT)
• Pricing & Profitability Management
• Price, Demand and Behavior Optimization
• Sales Force Segmentation and Management
• Sales Effectiveness
• Sourcing and Procurement
• Subscription Analytics
• Supply Chain Strategy
• Service Effectiveness
• Web Solutions
• Workforce Analytics

• Contacts

  For more information, please visit us on Deloitte.com or e-mail us at or contact any of the following industry and analytics leaders:

  Forrest Danson
  Principal
  Deloitte Consulting LLP
  fdanson@deloitte.com

  Vivek Katyal
  Principal
  Deloitte & Touche LLP
  vkatyal@deloitte.com

  Greg Swinehart
  Partner
  Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP
  gswinehart@deloitte.com

  Mark Lazzaro
  Partner
  Deloitte Tax LLP
  mlazzaro@deloitte.com