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MIT-IBM survey links data analytics with greater performance

Top industry performers are three times more likely to adopting high-end analytics, survey of 3,000 executives shows.
Written by Joe McKendrick, Contributing Writer

Those companies out in front of their industries are at least three times more likely to be employing sophisticated analytics against their corporate data. In addition, these companies tend to be more open to new ideas, a new survey hints.

These finding come from early returns from the first annual New Intelligent Enterprise Survey now underway, being conducted by MIT and IBM. Nina Kruschwitz of MIT Sloan Management Review and Rebecca Shockley of IBM provided a sneak peak at the raw data with some analysis, based on responses from 3,000 managers and executives from every major industry and all regions of the globe.

An interesting revelation coming out of the study so far is the fact that while executives are concerned about a lack of analytical skills, there is likely to be a treasure trove of unrecognized talent within their midst — "employees who consider themselves at least proficient in the use of analytics, but who are only occasionally asked to use them."

Here are some additional insights surfaced by Kruschwitz and Shockley:

Top performers are more likely to be using analytics: Fifty-three percent of top performers in their industries "use insights they glean from analyzing data to guide strategic decision making. Nearly half use it to guide day-to-day operations." Plus,  organizations that identify themselves as substantially outperforming their competitors, or 'top performers,' in their industries are three times more likely than their lower-performing counterparts to be sophisticated in their use of analytics than lower performers."

Sophisticates welcome challenges to the status quo: About two-thirds of "sophisticates" believe they can challenge the status quo, while only two-fifths of "starters" do. "It may be that organizations with more developed capabilities also possess more confidence, are less easily threatened and recognize employees as a source of innovation," the study's authors observe.

The goals of analytics depend on a company's economic condition: Study researchers found two groups interested in analytics -- those trying to weather the after-effects of the recession by using analytics to increase efficiency, versus those employing analytics to support an expansion strategy.

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com

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