Business analytics go far beyond reports, dashboards, and scorecards. Analytic impact occurs after the numbers are delivered, and analytic value is driven by the kinds of questions that are answered. Ordinary analytics tell you what has already happened. Good analytics provide insight into why things happen, and great analytics provide foresight to see what lies ahead. Today’s business climate demands extraordinary analytics. Business managers need to know more than what. The hard questions today are why, what if, and what next.
But answering these questions is especially difficult. They bring challenges that can’t be met without holistic thinking and a systemic view of the business. It takes different analysis skills to deliver great analytics—to see the whole system, measure the right things, and find the right answers to critical business questions.
