Just Add Analytics – Even to Toothbrushes

I recently saw a presentation mentioning that there “are more mobile phones than toothbrushes in the world”, and according to some research by the 60 second marketer, it seems that in all likelihood, this is absolutely true: My next thought was “why not combine the two?!”. Here’s my quick mockup of an iPhone case of the future: But as usual, truth is stranger than fiction. Just when you think you’ve seen every use of analytics possible,... [Read More...]

Analytics Projects Are Like Skiing Through Moguls?

View this video to see why analytics and business intelligence projects can be like skiing through a mogul field! (fast changes of direction, radical failure, etc.). Lots of parallels between my vocation and my vacation? (groan). Note: annotations may not work in mobile mode…  (Video taken with GoPro Hero, Alpinette run, Rochebrune, Megève)    Read More →

Business Intelligence Best Practice Twitter #SAPChat

I will be the host of the next #SAPChat, an interactive panel discussion carried out entirely over Twitter. It’s scheduled for 9am PST / 18:00 CET on Wednesday February 29th, and the subject will be “Business Intelligence Best Practice”. We will be discussing how best to implement business intelligence projects successfully, with an emphasis on people-focused hints and tips rather than technical discussions. And with only 140 characters available,... [Read More...]

2012: The Year Analytics Means Business

The real trend this year is not the technology. It’s about helping business people make better decisions, and actually change the way companies do business. Analytics has always been about transforming business, but the recent huge changes in analytic technology have created interesting new opportunities for business innovation. Most organizations are now starting to understand the technical opportunities, but many struggle to apply those new opportunities... [Read More...]

Social + Product = Better Products: Meet The Panelists

[UPDATE: Here's a link to the recorded panel session of Social+Products=Better Products on Wednesday, February 15th, from 3pm to  4.30pm PST, as part of Social Media Day at SAP Palo Alto. See this post on  Products+Social=Better Products for more details of the topics discussed. ] Panel Session Outline Here’s the outline of the panel session: 3:00-3:15 Key themes and Introductions: 3:15-3:35 Improving products through social techniques: 3:35-3:55... [Read More...]

What I Found Interesting About Gartner BI Summit 2012 London

As always, it was a huge pleasure to catch up with customers, colleagues, analysts, partners, and competitors at one of Europe’s largest BI conferences. It was a great show overall, and I came away even more optimistic about analytics for the coming year. Here are Jason Rose and I having an off-the-cuff discussion of what we found interesting about the latest Gartner BI Summit 2012 in London this week: And here are some longer thoughts about the... [Read More...]

Products + Social = Better Products

Update: as part of this year’s Social Media Week, I hosted  one of the sessions at a free one-day event held at SAP Palo Alto on February 15th. Accompanied by a star-studded lineup of guests (meet the panelists) we discussed how companies can make better products using social media — here’s a link to the recorded panel session: Social+Products=Better Products.  In this post, I’d like to share some ideas about why I believe that... [Read More...]

Join Us For Social Media Day in Palo Alto on Feb 15th

Interested in Social Media? (and everybody should be, because these techniques are changing EVERY business process, not just marketing). Come and join us! As part of this year’s Social Media Week, SAP Palo Alto will be hosting a free, day-long non-SAP-focused event on Wednesday, February 15th with a glittering array of industry experts discussing a variety of key social topics:             Just some of the participants: Maggie Fox, CEO... [Read More...]