Staying competitive in an increasingly digital marketplace by leveraging predictive analytics


Ed. Note: this blog was authored by Rebecca Brenton, Portfolio Marketing Manager, Engineered Systems, HPC & Cloud

There is an explosion of data sources – every device is now a data source.  Every piece of equipment is being instrumented with sensors and uploading information to the cloud.  Small and medium businesses struggle to keep pace with this complex landscape.  For example, data storage and retrieval, analytics, and forecasting are critical to success but the infrastructure and required skill-sets are holding them back.  And, the cost of access to advanced analytics is historically prohibitive and keeping them from being competitive.

Competing in today’s demanding marketplace means simplifying that complexity and going beyond traditional “what happened” reporting.  Predictive analytics are needed.  Whether it is about their customers, products, employees, competition, market, regardless of where you sit in an organization, while the context for the knowledge is different, the basic set of questions remains the same: What happened? What happened to sales? What happened to performance? What happened to our last quarter? What will happen to sales next quarter? What will happen to customer loyalty next quarter?

Imagine the possibility:

  • If you could have your marketers and sales people going back to marketing and selling rather than being amateur DBA’s
  • If you could look at historical records and available business data to make predictions using the best statistical algorithms for the best impact
  • If you could know the behavior of your customers by doing a simple analysis of the last week of their Facebook or twitter activity  – and then launch a campaign around their needs
  • If you could instantly predict the # of high risk loans in a quarter, be notified when there’s a shift in the economy and the effect on your company for the quarter

This can only happen if we address some of the most critical issues all businesses are faced with:

  • Faster analysis, insights, and decision making in its business functions to stay ahead of its competition
  • Flexibility to view data in the most relevant context
  • Focusing on value add reporting and analytics activities and not data movement
  • Optimizing BI spend on investments that provide new capabilities

Competing in today’s demanding marketplace means simplifying complexity and going beyond traditional “what happened” reporting.

  • Business leaders need to execute in the moment – need speed to results
  • There is an explosion of data, devices, decisions – need to simplify and integrate
  • Competition is fierce, and the stakes are high – need to anticipate customer needs or predict potential failures before they happen

To solve these problems, Dell is introducing enterprise-class analytics & reporting for medium businesses with Dell Validated System for SAP HANA Edge

  • Get reporting and analytics under control with a single-source in-memory data-mart
  • Enable advanced analytics without a data analytics expert
    • Built-in predictive analytics library addresses hundreds of standard business use cases
    • Point & click data modelling & analysis with included SAP Predictive Analytics Suite, Edge Edition
    • Advanced visualizations with included Lumira software
      • Create gorgeous data visualizations and infographics that let you analyze data at the speed of thought – right on your PC
      • Become a storyteller. Use a fluid drag-and-drop interface to quickly create stunning visualizations, compelling storyboards, and infographics.
      • Transform and manipulate data through an intuitive point-and-click interface. Cleanse and prepare data – and add measures, calculations, and groupings – all without any scripting.
      • Build engaging visualizations, stories, and infographics with cutting-edge charts and maps – all built into a fast, flexible workflow
      • Bundled IT and Business adoption services

Dell is currently the only SAP certified partner to offer a truly affordable solution for in-memory, real-time analytics, the Dell Validated System for SAP HANA, Edge Edition.  By combining SAP HANA and SAP Predictive Analytics Suite, Edge Editions into a single pre-integrated solution, Dell brings the analytical power and speed of SAP HANA to the masses, offering solutions with a much lower entry investment than SAP HANA, Enterprise Edition.  These solutions from Dell are completely integrated platforms, with software, visualization applications, and services bundled in for fast time to productivity.

Sarah Vela

About the Author: Sarah Vela

Sarah Vela is no longer with Dell Technologies.