The Analytics Revolution: HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR BUSINESS BY MAKING ANALYTICS OPERATIONAL IN THE BIG DATA ERA -- Contents -- Foreword -- Preface -- Who Should Read This Book? -- Who Should Not Read This Book? -- What's in This Book? -- Part One: The Revolution Has Begun -- Part Two: Laying the Foundation -- Part Three: Making Analytics Operational -- Acknowledgments -- PART I THE REVOLUTION HAS BEGUN -- CHAPTER 1 Understanding Operational Analytics -- Defining Operational Analytics -- What Are Operational Analytics? -- Differentiating Operational Analytics -- Cornerstones That Make Operational Analytics Unique -- Welcome to Analytics 3.0 -- Analytics 1.0: Traditional Analytics -- Analytics 2.0: Big Data Analytics -- Analytics 3.0: Unified Analytics for Maximum Impact -- Operationalizing Analytics with Analytics 3.0 -- How Analytics Are Changing Business -- Analytics as the Goal, Not a By‐Product -- Analytics Products Are Blurring Industry Lines -- Operational Analytics Will Be Transformative -- Putting Operational Analytics in Perspective -- Data Quality and Timeliness Are as Crucial as Ever -- Do Operational Analytics Stifle Creativity? -- Many Concepts behind Operational Analytics Aren't Really New -- Wrap-Up -- Notes -- CHAPTER 2 More Data . . . More Data . . . Big Data! -- Cutting through the Hype -- What's the Definition of Big Data? Who Cares! -- Start from the Right Perspective -- Is There a Big Data Bubble? -- Preparing for Big Data -- The Big Data Tidal Wave Is Here -- New Information Is What Makes Big Data So Powerful -- Seek New Questions to Ask -- Data Retention Is No Longer a Binary Decision -- The Internet of Things Is Coming -- Putting Big Data in Context -- It's Not So Much Big Data as It Is Different Data -- Big Data Must Be Scaled across Multiple Dimensions -- Getting the Most Value from Big Data -- Back to the Future.

Big Data Is Going through a Maturity Curve -- Big Data Is a Global Phenomenon -- Wrap-Up -- Notes -- CHAPTER 3 Operational Analytics in Action -- Improving Customer Experiences -- Providing Magical Moments -- Enabling Consumer Transparency -- Upgrading Customer Service -- Enhancing the Online Experience -- Time Is of the Essence -- Security through Analytics -- The Hundred‐Million‐Dollar Millisecond -- Making Us Safer -- Avoiding Adverse Events -- Ensuring Product Freshness -- Government Can Get Operational Too -- Increasing Operational Efficiency -- Maximizing Power Capture -- Optimizing Power Generation -- Increasing Fuel Efficiency -- Improving Call Center Performance -- Improving Our Lives in the Future -- Freeing Our Time -- Keeping Us Healthy -- Finding Unexpected Value in Data -- Leveraging Location Data for Traffic Updates -- Leveraging Sensor Data to Improve Crop Yields -- Leveraging Compliance Data to Improve Sales -- Create Strategic Analytics Too -- Wrap-Up -- Notes -- PART II LAYING THE FOUNDATION -- CHAPTER 4 Want Budget? Build the Business Case! -- Setting the Priorities -- Start with a Business Problem, Not Data or Technology -- Focus on Returns, Not Costs -- Target Differentiators, Not Incremental Improvements -- Choosing the Right Decision Criteria -- Paint a Bigger Picture -- Time to Insight -- Ability to Operationalize -- Analysis Value versus Technology Value -- Business Case Framework to Consider -- What Are the Total Costs for Operational Analytics? -- Account for All Costs over Time -- The Most Overlooked Component of Cost -- Issues that Change the Formula -- Scalability Is Not Just about Storage and Processing -- Tips for Creating a Winning Business Case -- Don't Force a Business Case -- To Succeed, Start Small -- Accept Some Uncertainty -- There Are Many Options, So Choose Wisely -- Illustration of Doing It Right -- Wrap-Up.

Notes -- CHAPTER 5 Creating an Analytics Platform -- Planning -- Making Analytics Operational Is Not a Technology Issue -- Components Will Be Added, Not Replaced -- Different Platforms, Different Strengths -- Do What's Right Today -- Building -- Welcome to Fabric‐Based Computing -- Pillars of a Unified Analytics Environment -- Additional Supporting Technologies -- Using -- Any Analysis, Any Data, Any Time -- End Users Don't Care Where the Data Is Stored -- What about the Cloud? -- Wrap-Up -- Notes -- CHAPTER 6 Governance and Privacy -- Setting the Stage for Governance -- A Lesson from 1984 -- Security Clearance Model -- Partnership Is Required -- Governing the Internet of Things -- Deciding Where Analytics Happen -- Never Say Can't! -- Choose What Works Best -- Focus on the Right Mix -- Governing Operational Analytics -- Different Requirements -- Monitoring Operational Analytics -- Discovery Platform versus Discovery Environment -- Time to Insight versus Execution Time -- Privacy -- Is Big Data Becoming Big Brother? -- Setting Privacy Standards -- Privacy Catch‐22s -- The Future of Privacy Policies -- Wrap-Up -- Notes -- PART III MAKING ANALYTICS OPERATIONAL -- CHAPTER 7 The Analytics -- Creating Operational Analytics Processes -- Consistency of the Analytics Process -- From Batch Analytics to Operational Analytics -- Operational Analytics Are . . . -- Expanding into New Analytics Disciplines -- Defining Analytics Disciplines -- The Case for Multidiscipline Analytics -- Multidiscipline Analytics in Action -- Focusing Analytics Efforts -- Ask the Right Questions and Make Good Assumptions -- Place Your Bets! -- Don't Be Too Quick to Judge -- Comparing Analytics Approaches -- Discovery versus Confirmatory Analysis -- Research and Development versus Hacking -- Hardening a Process for Operational Scale -- Lessons from the Past.

Statistical Methods Are Still Relevant -- Don't Dismiss Sampling -- Don't Overcomplicate Analytics -- Operational Analytics Must Provide Solutions -- Wrap-Up -- Notes -- CHAPTER 8 The Analytics Organization -- A Major Shift Has Occurred -- Staffing -- Who Is the Analytics Professional? -- Old School and New School Agree -- Solving the Talent Crunch -- Cover All the Bases -- Maximizing Retention -- Organizing -- What Standard Structure? -- Recommended Structure -- Evolving to a Hybrid Model -- Do You Need a Chief Analytics Officer? -- What about a Chief Data Officer? -- Consider a Cross‐Functional Team -- Succeeding -- Leverage External Resources Intelligently -- To Succeed, Follow Through -- Managing Expectations Effectively -- Be Consultants, Mentors, and Coaches -- Think Like a Referee -- The Wrong Incentives Can Be Costly -- Wrap-Up -- Notes -- CHAPTER 9 The Analytics Culture -- Instilling the Proper Mind-Set -- Learn from Fleas -- Embrace Analytics from the Top Down -- Acknowledge the Value of Analytics Professionals -- Facilitate Behavior Change -- Overcome Resistance and Pushback -- Implementing Effective Policies -- Small Shifts in Mind‐set Can Yield Big Results -- Shifting IT From Serving to Enabling -- Ensure Proper Planning -- Facilitating Success -- Search for Unexpected Value -- Find the Early Adopters and Influencers -- Prepare a Marketing Campaign -- Enabling and Handling the Right Failures -- No Idea Is Bad . . . If It Can Be Tested -- Don't Take Failure Personally -- Don't Accept Failure through Ignorance -- Wrap-Up -- Notes -- CONCLUSION: Join the Revolution! -- About the Author -- Index -- EULA.