Analytical Thinking is a fortnightly newsletter from the UK Business Analytics team. The purpose of the newsletter is to raise awareness about why analytics is a hot topic at the moment, where is analytics being referenced in the press and in what ways are organisations using analytics. Business Analytics (Operational Research) is part of the Digital Transformation team in Capgemini Consulting UK

1. From: Skornik, Charlotte
Sent: 25 June 2012 12:19
To: Skornik, Charlotte
Subject: Analytical Thinking 8 - June 2012
Analytical Thinking
Analytical Thinking 8 - A Newsletter
from the UK Business Analytics June 2012
Team
Introduction
Introduction
Welcome to the latest edition of Analytical Thinking, a newsletter from the UK
Business Analytics community providing snippets of insight on what people have
been saying about our capability over the last 2 weeks. To coincide with the launch
of our Business Analytics and Big Data report, published since the last issue of
Analytical Thinking and our joint ‗Big Data‘ offer with SAS, this edition focuses on
some applications of Big Data that we‘ve found on the web over the last 2 weeks
and articles relating to the benefits and challenges that Big Data presents.
back to top
Applications of Big Data
Big Data Provides Obama
with Political
Advantage Digging into
The depth and the Past with
breadth of the Big Data
Obama campaign‘s
2012 digital Online genealogy
operation — from service Ancestry.com is trying to
data mining to online organizing — become like the Amazon or Netflix of
reaches so far beyond anything politics family trees. Much like those
has ever seen. Experts maintain that it companies use customer data to
could impact the outcome of a close recommend products or movies
presidential election. The article argues customers might like, Ancestry.com
that when the political race is as close wants to feed its users relevant
as this year‘s election promises to be, historical records and other information
data creates a real advantage, and that on ancestors without making them
is something that Obama has in search through its database. This
abundance, as more accurate data article explains how Big Data is being
means more insight, more money, more used to let users dig into decades into
message distribution, and ultimately their family histories.
more votes. See article
See article

2. Turning Big Data Into Action: Banks Harnessing Big Data
Knowing when to Analyse Customers
to Evacuate Shopping Habits
This article Banks are
describes a tool, teaming-up with
which uses historical retailers to target
and meteorological customers by
data to generate a analyzing the
risk profile for residents of a city in real- customer data they
time associated with hurricanes. The collect more closely. This article on
tool was inspired by the mass Computing.co.uk argues that in a
evacuations that occurred during mature market, such as the US, UK or
Hurricane Rita in 2005. Millions of Canada, where credit is a mature
Houstonians fled the storm and blocked industry and people have a wallet full
major roadways. Not all of those who of credit cards, it is naïve for a bank to
left needed too, but with absent hard believe that the way it is going to grow
data it‘s hard to know what to do if revenues is simply by issuing more
you‘re reading about a Category 5 credit cards, therefore the issue for
storm heading your way. The article banks is not how to increase the
argues that this tool illustrates the amount of cards but how to get the
promise of big data, i.e. ‗a decision‘ user to use our card, which is an
arguing: ―Data — even prettied into a analogous problem to a retailer‘s study
chart — isn‘t what most people are of customer analytics.
after. They just want to know what they
should do‖.
See article
See article
back to top
Big Data – The Benefits and The Challenges

3. The More Big Ethics for Big Big Data
Pervasive the Data Challenges
Analytics, the Organizations
Better the ROI As the collection, This article references
If you‘ve had your organization and our very own big data
doubts about the retention of data has study, which has been
benefits of business become commonplace in referenced by over 1000
analytics (business modern business, the social media posts –
intelligence, product ethical implications stating its main findings
management and behind big data have also that over the last few
predictive analytics), a grown in importance. years, an avalanche of
study from Nucleus Who really owns this data—both structured
Research might go a information? Who is and unstructured—has
long way toward ultimately responsible for pushed organizations to
dispelling them. The maintaining it? What are the breaking point. This
research, titled ―The the privacy issues and articles conclusion from
Stages of an Analytic obligations? What uses of our study: CIOs and
Enterprise,‖ shows technology are ethical — other IT executives
enterprises attain an or not — when it comes recognize that their
average ROI of 188 to big data? These are ability to achieve success
percent in the initial the questions the authors is now heavily dependent
automation phase and address in the following on tapping into big data
an average of 1,209 article. and putting it to full use.
percent in the later See article See article
predictive phase. This
article explains how
companies gain a
greater ROI as they
broaden and deepen
their use of analytics,
including using Big Data
capabilities to examine
large and complex data
sets.
See article
Footnote
Figure It Out Blog
Have you visited the Figure it out blog yet?
Feedback
We hope that you have enjoyed reading this eighth edition of Analytical Thinking
and hope that it has provided you with a good insight into some of the value that is
currently being realised through Business Analytics solutions. If you would like to
find out more about our services and propositions then please contact Nigel Lewis
or Jon Chadwick. If you have any suggestions on how we can improve this
newsletter or if you have received it via a colleague and would like to subscribe
then please contact Charlotte Skornik. If you spot an article that is Business
Analytics related then we'd like to know about it, please submit it to Charlotte
Skornik, and it may appear in the next edition of Analytical Thinking!
This is a fortnightly newsletter, if you have received it in error or no longer wish to
subscribe, please contact Charlotte Skornik

4. back to top
The information contained in this newsletter is proprietary and confidential.
It is for Capgemini internal use only. Copyright © 2012. All rights reserved by Capgemini.

5. subscribe to this newsletter
This is a fortnightly newsletter, if you don’t want to receive it anymore, please let me know.
Regards,
Charlotte Skornik
Operational Research
charlotte.skornik@capgemini.com
Tel: +44 (0) 870 904 5666 - Mob: +44 (0) 789 115 5666
www.uk.capgemini.com
40 Holborn Viaduct - London - EC1N 2PB
Connect with us:
Capgemini Consulting is the strategy and transformation consulting brand of Capgemini Group