Management Information Analysis

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Survey: High Satisfaction Among Mobile EHR Users

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Electronic Health RecordsResearch Now has published the results of a survey of 600 physicians on their use of electronic health records (EHRs), showing an overall growth in the use of EHRs and other technological resources on the part of health care providers. Only 26 percent of respondents said they access EHRs from mobile devices, but their degree of satisfaction is much higher than that of desktop and laptop users. Fifty-eight percent of mobile users said they are “very satisfied” with their EHRs, compared to just 28 percent for non-mobile solutions.

Among the main reasons for that satisfaction is ease of use: only 39 percent of physicians who access EHRs on mobile devices found the technology challenging to learn, versus 58 percent of non-mobile users. When asked about their EHRs’ effect on productivity, the results were similarly very favorable toward mobile solutions.

Twenty-eight percent of respondents said they or their organizations plan to increase their investment in EHRs, with most of that going to patient portals. These portals provide patients with 24-hour access to their own personal health information, and are an essential part of what the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act defines as “Meaningful Use Stage 2.” This is in keeping with the findings of a ResearchFox study that identified federal guidelines as one of the main drivers of health care analytics.

Among EHR challenges, the most common response was a difficulty integrating data from external systems, followed by importing existing records. ETL development makes it easier to draw patients’ information from diverse sources and bring it all together in EHRs, where it can be conveniently accessed.

Holidays Bring New Opportunities, Challenges for Retail Analytics

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Retail Data AnalyticsAccording to two recently published surveys, the recovery of the American economy will have a positive effect on the retail industry during the upcoming Holiday season. An Accenture study revealed that 21 percent of consumers plan to spend more money this year than they did in 2013. While this is undeniably good news for retailers, they also need to ask themselves whether they can boost their profits even more through the use of analytical tools.

The Accenture survey forecasts an increase in in-store as well as online purchases, and retailers have to work to ensure that they have all the necessary information to improve their service on both fronts. Although E-commerce is obviously a much more recent phenomenon, a MultiChannel Merchant article notes that, because of its nature, it is easier to obtain analyzable data from it than it is from in-store activity.

But gathering valuable information from a store isn’t an insurmountable obstacle. Store managers can gain valuable point-of-sale insights at brick-and-mortar locations, from what products consumers prefer to average wait times, which can help them adjust their service accordingly. These analytics can also improve inter-store inventory for retailers with more than one location and help determine pricing strategy to maximize return on investment, among other applications.

Retail information systems can gather data from multiple sources, which is essential when consumers are making purchases both in person and online, and from a variety of platforms. A Prosper Insights & Analytics survey shows that the number of online purchases that are made from mobile devices is on the rise. An ETL architecture helps retailers draw valuable conclusions regardless of the complexity of their operations.

Authorities Hope Data Analytics Can Help Contain Virus Outbreaks

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Analytics Virus OutbreaksThe Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa has been grabbing international headlines for weeks, and now, as authorities fight to contain the disease’s spread, some experts are recommending the use of a new tool: data analytics. In the countries where the epidemic began, the World Health Organization (WHO) has acknowledged the difficulty in obtaining reliable numbers, and organizations including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have begun using mobile data to gain insights into the spread of the virus.

Mobile phones are ubiquitous in many African countries where landline infrastructure is sorely lacking. French telecommunications company Orange S.A. recently handed over anonymized data from 150,000 users in Senegal, helping to create a map of population movement and communications. The hope is that this information will allow authorities to better plan the location of treatment centers and, if necessary, restrict travel between certain regions.

Mobile devices can give exact data on people’s locations and identify calls to hospitals or specialized hotlines to detect specific cities or regions where outbreaks occur. Similar tactics have been used since 2010 during the Haiti cholera outbreak.

“Big data analytics is about bringing together many different data sources and mining them to find patterns,” said Accenture Health managing director Frances Dare to the BBC. “We have health clinic and physician reports, media reports, comment on social media, information from public health workers on the ground, transactional data from retailers and pharmacies, travel ticket purchases, helpline data, as well as geo-spatial tracking.”

A comprehensive ETL architecture can gather data from all of these disparate sources and organize it into a unified format that authorities and health organizations can use to track a disease’s spread and optimize containment and preventative measures.

Comprehensive Information Key for Data Analytics Success

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Data Analytics Big data is one of the most talked-about trends in business these days, but many companies don’t fully understand what it is or why it is important, or else they lack the insight to take full advantage of the information they gather. An article in CMS Wire points out a few of the factors that businesses should take into account before launching into a data analytics strategy.

Data comes in many forms and from many sources, and it’s essential that companies have the tools to read all forms and extract the parts that will be useful to their business. Millions of gigabytes of data are automatically generated by devices connected through the Internet of Things, but a smaller yet often more important amount of information comes from emails or social media interactions, or is entered manually by employees.

The degree to which each source of data is useful varies greatly from one organization to the next, and can change over time as business strategies evolve. Even though it is still the early days of analytics, companies that have managed to implement successful systems are already reaping the rewards. A recent Accenture study found that high-performing companies are five times more likely to use information analytics, and that companies with advanced analytics outperform the average S&P 500 business by 64 percent.

A data management services provider can help companies get started on the daunting task of gathering and organizing information from various sources through the extract, transform, load process. This involves culling data and uploading it to the receiving system in a unified format, making it much easier to analyze and draw conclusions from.

Survey Shows Greater Urgency from Companies to Adopt Analytics

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Data AnalyticsAn increasing number of companies are realizing the importance of data analytics as a tool for success, according to a recently published study by Accenture and General Electric (GE). A survey of 250 executives showed that many are still lagging in business intelligence analytics solutions, but most are aware of the potential applications and are preparing to implement them.

Only 29 percent of respondents said their companies currently use big data for predictive analytics or to streamline their business processes, but many more are using data in other areas of their operations. Sixty-five percent are employing data tools to monitor their equipment, using the information they gather to proactively carry out maintenance and 62 percent are gathering analytical information from dispersed environments, such as oil pipelines or wind farms.

When it comes to awareness about the importance of analytics, an overwhelming 93 percent have already noticed new competitors in their markets successfully using big data, which has driven 88 percent of respondents to call data analytics a top priority for the coming months. Sixty-six percent of executives expressed concern that their organizations could lose their market position if they fail to implement analytics.

“The payoff from joining industrial big data and predictive analytics to benefit from the productivity gains the Industrial Internet has to offer is no longer in doubt,” said GE Software vice president Bill Ruh in a press release. “But data alone won’t generate value. To make information useful requires an investment in new capabilities and talent that will serve as a catalyst to extract value quickly.”

ETL tools allow businesses to gather specific data based on which area of operations they want to address. Companies can then analyze this information to optimize business processes and get ahead of the competition.

Governments Adopting Data Analytics to Boost Economy, Public Services

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A Forbes Insights case study titled “Analytics Paves the Way for Better Government” details some of the ways that national and regional governments around the world are implementing data analytics solutions to improve economic results and modernize their own processes. According to management consulting firm McKinsey & Company, public institutions have the potential to generate or save up to $3 trillion through the use of analytics, by digitizing information and using data to improve decision-making.

One of the key elements to successful data usage is sharing among agencies, something that, as the report notes, is not nearly as common as it should be. One U.S. state that has implemented a data sharing program is Indiana, which is using analytics to achieve a number of public policy goals in education, employment and health care.

At the local level, the city of Austin, Texas, is developing a solution to track everything from finances and permits to crime statistics. A recent InformationWeek article also points out that several government agencies are already using analytics to fight fraud in Social Security and other benefits programs.

The main obstacle that governments will face as they adopt data analytics plans, as Forbes points out, is extracting valuable insights from the vast quantities of data they manage. Public agencies can benefit from the use of data management services to achieve that end. While governments have access to more information than ever before, it comes from a variety of different sources and, taken separately, provides little in the form of useful insights. Extract, transform, load (ETL) tools gather that data and convert it to a unified format that is easy to analyze and draw conclusions from.

How Data Analytics Can Change Marketing Strategies

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As this blog has reported, an increasing number of companies are relying on data analytics to drive their business strategies. A recent Adweek column points out a few ways that businesses can now employ data specifically in their marketing departments:

  • Gauge a campaign’s performance in real time and adjust accordingly: With social media, consumer response to ad campaigns has become more objectively quantifiable. Companies can track the public’s reaction to see which aspects of their campaigns are generating positive or negative reactions. This way, they can make changes on the fly rather than wait for the campaign’s end and hope for results.
  • Narrow down market sectors: By tracking mentions on social media, marketers can break down traditional broad demographic groups into narrower ones. This will allow them to target a much more specific audience, maximizing a campaign’s effectiveness.
  • Predict brand performance: The New York Times reported recently that holding company Credit Suisse has compiled data on how consumers feel about different brands within an industry, in order to predict the brands’ future market performance and make wiser investments. Companies can also use this information to their advantage by working to make their public image more appealing.
  • Track the competition: Aside from all the information that companies can gather on consumers’ responses to their own products, they can do the same for their competitors. Knowing what the public thinks about the competition, whether good or bad, is just as useful as knowing their opinion of one’s own brand.

While all of this data is out there, transforming it into something quantifiable that can be used to make strategic decisions is easier said than done. Extract, transform, load (ETL) tools provide data mining for business intelligence, giving decision-makers the information they need to lay out their future marketing plans.

Gartner: Big Data Implementation Continues to Grow

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The results of a June survey by IT research firm Gartner show that a growing number of companies are investing in big data, and more intend to do so in the future. Of the 302 businesses worldwide that were questioned about their big data practices and plans, 73 percent said they have already invested in big data or will begin within the next two years. That number is up from 64 percent in last year’s survey. Only 24 percent say they have no big data plans, down from 31 percent in 2013.

Forty-seven percent of North American companies have already invested in big data in some form, the highest rate of any region. Gartner’s press release points out that most of that investment is going to experimental plans, and that only 13 percent of businesses have fully developed big data strategies, up from 8 percent last year. Gartner research director Lisa Kart highlighted health care and retail as two of the sectors that are using big data to improve their customer services.

Gartner also notes the biggest challenge that businesses are likely to face with big data. As connectivity grows, there will be a greater volume of data available, but that can easily be handled by increasing storage space. Rather, it is the variety of data sources that is likely to pose problems.

Database management systems that employ an extract, transform, load (ETL) process can help with just this issue. ETL tools can parse an abundance of sources and convert information to a format that is easy to analyze and draw conclusions from. This way companies can make the most of big data without being overwhelmed by information.

Health Care Industry Cautious About Technology Adoption

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A study by the Harvard Business Review shows that health care professionals are among the most cautious when it comes to adopting and implementing new technologies. The study is part of a larger survey of industry executives, who were questioned on their organizations’ approach to technological advances.

Of the health care respondents, 71 percent said they wait until a technology has been established and proven to be effective before investing in it, whereas only 27 percent seek to be among the first adopters. As for which specific technologies health care organizations adopt, the only one that the majority reported was mobile solutions, with an adoption rate of 64 percent.

But the study’s authors noted that early adoption gives organizations a significant advantage — a separate Accenture study found that 41 percent of patients would be willing to change providers entirely if it gave them access to digital records.

Experts are confident that health organizations won’t lag much longer. At The Economist’s Health Care Forum, which was held last week in Boston, Bain Capital managing director Chris Gordon noted that the adoption of electronic health records, which the federal government has spurred on, is creating a vital infrastructure for storing patient data. “Now that information is available and can flow, you’ll see big players come on and we’ll be able to bridge that gap,” he said. “The building blocks are in place to see that over the next decade.”

ETL architecture (extract, transform, load) can help health care providers process that newly available data to draw meaningful conclusions. If the health care industry is willing to be more proactive about adopting technological solutions, patients, physicians and organizations will all benefit.

Survey: Businesses Satisfied with Big Data Usage

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An Accenture survey of more than one thousand business executives and IT managers shows an overwhelmingly positive reaction among those that have implemented big data solutions. According to the published report, titled “Big Success with Big Data,” 92 percent of respondents are satisfied with the results of their projects. Eighty-nine percent said big data is important to their businesses’ digital operations and, for 82 percent, big data provides a significant source of value.

As for what areas of business have been specifically affected by big data projects, 94 percent said they have used it to identify new sources of revenue, 90 percent to acquire and retain existing customers and 89 percent to develop new products and services. Narendra Mulani, senior management director of Accenture Analytics, says the results prove that big data has definitively reached the point where companies are beginning to see tangible results, both financial and operational, from its implementation.

“[Companies are] recognizing that big data is one of the cornerstones of digital transformation,” he says. “Today, even the most basic items like water pipes can generate and provide data. While the Internet of Things is giving rise to massive sources and quantities of data, new big data technologies are emerging that help uncover crucial business insights from the data. Companies not implementing big data solutions are missing an opportunity to turn data into an asset that drives business and a competitive advantage.”

Indeed, the benefits of business intelligence analytics are no longer just theoretical. ETL tools can help businesses convert all that available information into something that can be analyzed and studied to gain valuable insights. With proper data analysis, companies can make the most of increased connectivity and give a boost to their bottom line.

Management Information Analysis
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