Fitzgerald Analytics

Analytics Career Paths: Still a Promising Road...

While many predictions about the impact of the internet on our lives have required "heavy edits" or revisions, this article about careers in analytics seems like it could have been written yesterday.

The actual dateline?  July 4th 2001.  (The article focused especially on web analytics, but the thesis applies more broadly in both online, offline, and hybrid contexts.)

As I mentioned in a comment to the author, at Fitzgerald Analytics we feel as certain in 2007 as she was in 2001 regarding the growing demand for Analytic experience. For job seekers who share our interest, and confidence, in the continued growth of the analytics career path, take a look at the Analytics Career Path at Fitzgerald Analytics :-).

If I can be of further assistance on this topic, don't hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,

Jaime Fitzgerald
President
Fitzgerald Analytics, Inc. 
Visit us at http://www.fitzgerald-analytics.com

Measure & Maximize Marketing ROI

The Fitzgerald Analytics Team has posted a new set of book recommendations, this time on the subject of Marketing Analytics and Marketing ROI.

We hope you enjoy it,

Jaime @ Fitzgerald Analytics

What If You Hired Only the Best People and Paid Them Like Superstars?

Moneyball tactics (generally speaking, analytics & fact-based decisions in the context of professional sports mgt) help teams improve their Return on Investment (ROI).  But the size of the investment itself (including salaries, management....even the analysis itself!) still matters in the equation.

Frank Roche's post is thought-provoking because it highlights the high-stakes decisions at the heart of the professional services business model. The high-stakes decisions he describes are inevitably faced by professional services organizations, whether they recognize it or not. 

For example, running a consulting firm, a law firm, or even a school demands that we seek ROI on our human capital investments (i.e. what talent to procure, and how to deploy this talent).  Like the Oakland A's, AND the Red Sox, hopefully we recognize the stakes when making these decisions, and invest in the analysis to make them well.

Cheers,

Jaime Fitzgerald
President
Fitzgerald Analytics, Inc.
Visit us at http://www.fitzgerald-analytics.com

p.s. Kris Dunn's post on Steinbrenner's termination of coach Torre also touches on the challenge, and delicacy, of managing highly paid, unpredictable talent.   Enjoy, JF

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Data Governance Issues for Externally Supplied Data

The rules by which data from one source in integrated into another organization require thought, planning, and governance that goes well beyond what most organizations currently are capable of.

In this interesting post, author and fellow practitioner David Loshin comments further on this issue.

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From the Fitzgerald Analytics Team: Reflections on the Master Data Management

As a firm whose "strike zone" is the translation of raw data into high-impact decisions for our clients, the Fitzgerald Analytics Team is consistently passionate about the analytic process.  When defined holistically, the so-called "Analytics Value Chain" stretches:

1. From the origins of raw data...
2. ...to the management of data via established standards, governance, and processes...
3. ...to it's inclusion in core data assets...
4. ...which are used as inputs to analytic platforms...
5. ...upon which analytic tools are built and deployed...
6. ...which are used within business processes...
7. ...to systematically make better, more profitable, decisions :-)

And while step #7 is where value is unlocked and profits are made, the chain of causality stretches all the way back to step #1. With this perspective in mind, our team took time out from client work to attend the CDI-MDM Summit last week here in NYC.  This is the premier conference focused exclusively on Master Data Management and Customer Data Integration, and was worth every penny, minute, and calorie we spent attending.

We will be posting a more extensive summary of takeaways, but at a high level, the event did a great job of showcasing the fact that good data management remains, as it has been for several decade now, the "great precondition."   What I mean by that is that since modern business processes are build on information, the management of corporate data as a precious asset is required to enable C-level strategic objectives including:

1. Compliance and Risk Management
2. Agility and responsiveness to change (for example, to pursue new markets, segments, or partnerships)
3. Merger integration
4. Marketing ROI
5. Sales Force Effectiveness

...and many other objectives. For more on analytics and data management, also see the Analytics Team's book recommendations...

A "Data to Dollars" Starter Library

What books belong on our shelves as we navigate the pathway towards success via analytics?  What texts offer practical reference as we design analytic processes to translate data into dollars? At Fitzgerald Analytics, where our specialty helping our clients make their high-stakes (i.e. strategic) decisions more fact-based, more successful, and more profitable, we are often asked this question.  And while books alone are unlikely to inject brand new analytic capabilities into complex, established corporations, we do find that clients who read certain books derive remarkable value from the material.

With this in mind, we have finally decided to "go public" with our "Top 10 List" of books on applied analytics (posted on my Amazon Profile). Check out the list HERE. Of course, this initial list is based on the needs of my past and present clients (whom in the past decade have ranged from Banks in the US, Canada, and Singapore to major firms in Health Care, Pharmaceuticals, Publishing/Media, Manufacturing, Retail Services, and Non-Profit sectors).  If you'd like a customized list based on your particular interests, don't hesitate to ask... We hope you like it.