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Business Intelligence Books - Competing on Analytics: The New Science of Winning
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List Price: $29.95
Our Price: $19.77
Your Save: $ 10.18 ( 34% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Harvard Business School Press
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 658.4013
EAN: 9781422103326
ISBN: 1422103323
Label: Harvard Business School Press
Manufacturer: Harvard Business School Press
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 240
Publication Date: 2007-03-06
Publisher: Harvard Business School Press
Release Date: 2007-03-06
Studio: Harvard Business School Press
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Editorial Reviews:
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You have more information at hand about your business environment than ever before. But are you using it to "out-think" your rivals? If not, you may be missing out on a potent competitive tool. In "Competing on Analytics: The New Science of Winning" , Thomas H. Davenport and Jeanne G. Harris argue that the frontier for using data to make decisions has shifted dramatically. Certain high-performing enterprises are now building their competitive strategies around data-driven insights that in turn generate impressive business results. Their secret weapon: Analytics: sophisticated quantitative and statistical analysis and predictive modeling. Exemplars of analytics are using new tools to identify their most profitable customers and offer them the right price, to accelerate product innovation, to optimize supply chains, and to identify the true drivers of financial performance. A wealth of examples - from organizations as diverse as Amazon, Barclay's, Capital One, Harrah's, Procter & Gamble, Wachovia, and the Boston Red Sox - illuminate how to leverage the power of analytics.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: If you are already in analytics, then you don't need this book.
Comment: I thought this book provided a very general overview of using analytics in organizations. There was way too much covering the obvious that you have to get management buy-in for it to be successful. Duh, that's what you have to do with any initiative, whether analytics or something else. Anyway, you don't need this book if your are already in analytics, only if you want a 'broad general overview' of analytics.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Numbers Made More Mind-Numbing
Comment: I confess that despite being a bit of a numbers freak I was disappointed in "Competing on Analytics." The authors provide a good overview of how statistical analysis can be designed to help businesses make good decisions and create a competitive advantage. They give many examples from companies involved in analytical competition.
"Competing on Analytics" would have been more enjoyable if time was spent concentrating on a single company or a single industry. As it is, the authors flit from one company to another and don't allow the reader to see how analytics started in a company, became part of the company culture, how it benefited the company, and how the company plans to use analytics in the future. Perhaps showing that progression would be giving away too much inside information from a single entity.
The beginning chapters were the most interesting. The authors related specific examples showing how analytics have been used at corporations such as Harrah's Entertainment, Capital One, and the Boston Red Sox. Portions of the final chapter that discussed the future of analytics were also of some interest.
Perhaps my expectations were just too high based on reading the cover blurbs, but I was just barely able to slog through "Competing on Analytics." If you have been exposed to this subject before, you probably won't find much new in this book.
I would love to read a book on this subject that did not feel like it was written for a stodgy academic journal.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Comment: Maybe, since I work in analytics, my review is different from the others. If you are a new incomer in the field or if you don't have any idea of the issue, this book is maybe a good beginning. But if you know something (even if this is very low) about analytics, CRM or Customer Strategy, this book is really worth nothing. It is written from a tom manager point of view, and it would not give you any new insight about how analytics is changing the way the corporations do business.
Only acceptable for those who know nothing about the stuff.
Customer Rating:
Summary: "Going by the Gut" may be going by the wayside
Comment: This book shows how several companies are effectively "competing on analytics" - defined as having the following four characteristics:
1. Analytics supports a strategic, distinctive capability
2. Approach to and management of analytics is enterprise-wide
3. Senior management is committed to the use of analytics
4. The company makes a significant, strategic bet on Analytics
In my opinion, the fourth item is really redundant, as the investment in obtaining and implementing the first criteria would satisfy the fourth. But the other three are critical. Included in both #2 and #3 is the requirement of an evidence-based decision making criteria. This is what I expect most companies will have an issue with. While the book mentions the difficulty in changing the culture and the potential for a virtual war between the "quants" and the "old guard", there are not really any good suggestions for overcoming it. The one suggestion given, proving it on a smaller scale won't work, because "proof" is not relevant for those who believe the gut is better than evidence.
That said, for those who can appreciate the value of evidence, this book provides much of it. Perhaps the best is the fact how the book describes Capital One carefully targeting sub-prime risks using analytics. Since the book was published, that market in general has collapsed, but Capital one is doing fairly well. The chapters on how to build the technical and people aspects raise good points, but are far from thorough.
In short, this book is a great overview, and provides many good ideas to consider, but it should not be confused as a how-to book.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Five stars but... for the right audience!
Comment: I was excited by the title, some of the reviews and rushed to buy this. Read it quite fast and got little disappointed. Probably the correct title could be ''Advocacy for Competing on Analytics''. To be clear, the book is very good if you are: a student, a junior project manager, a junior consultant, a manager looking for Business Intelligence ideas, an expert looking for tools to sell analytics, or Business Intelligence, to your top managers.
If you are experienced in using analytics, design and use data collection tools, or using Business Intelligence, the book might bring you little value. I was constantly reading it and looking forward for the real meat, but it didn't really appeared. I certainly will keep it to use as a reference in the future, but still looking for books to provide deeper insights on the subject.
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