Probably the most important change that has occurred in the last few years is how ubiquitous it is to pay for what we consume (or use), for what we need at the time we need it.  From car rides, to dog walking to TV watching, it’s a trend that continues to gain traction.  This trend started with cloud computing and the ability to pay for what we use in terms of infrastructure (IaaS), platform (Paas) and software (SaaS) as a service.  It makes sense.  From time to time, I need to get something done and it requires using tools, skills and infrastructure that I certainly don’t have and certainly don’t want to own in perpetuity.  The pay-as-you-go model also makes sense for analytic services. 

The Rise of Pay-As-You-Go Model

There are so many examples!  In addition to IaaS, PaaS and SaaS, there are…Backup as a Service, Desktop as a Service, Database as a Service, CRM, office productivity tools, travel expense management, electronic signatures …. Almost anything you are accustom to doing in-house, you can find an as-a-service offering.  And outside of business too!  The pay-as-you-go model has changed the way we go about our daily lives.  What really hits close to home are these “as a service” models.  If you live in an urban area, you don’t need a car.  Wherever I can’t walk to, I can get a ride in minutes.  I don’t have to worry about the cash transaction and I don’t have to pre-arrange the ride (insert reference to your favorite ride service here). Need reservations at the last minute?  That’s covered too (think OpenTable).

Bottom line…Get what you need when you need it and only pay for it when you use it.  It just makes sense.  Which brings me to analytics.

Analytics as a Service

All businesses need analytics to compete.  If you are not in the business of providing analytics, or if you are not a huge corporation (most organizations are not), you don’t have the resources needed to do analytics.  The solution?  Analytics as a Service (AaaS), specifically, Dunn Solutions’ Analytics as a Service!

Whether you are going on a digital transformation journey or simply looking to do “what you do” more effectively, you need analytics.  Analytics are used to support business decisions you need to make:  How much should you charge for a product or service?  How many people should you staff for a given period or event?  Who is likely to click on your offer?  You get the picture. 

The Velocity Virtuous Cycle

Analytics are so critical we made it part of Dunn Solutions’ Velocity Virtuous Cycle.  The Velocity Virtuous Cycle simply says that analytics used in a feedback loop to your automated process accelerates business value.

What Is Analytics?

What is analytics?  Why would you need Analytics as a Service?  Analytics is the scientific process of discovering and communicating useful patterns found in data.  Analytics are grouped into three categories: Descriptive, Predictive and Prescriptive.  Doing analytics is hard. It requires the application of statistics, computer programming, data management and proper visualization for communication and analysis.  You need many different skills provided not by one talented person, but many talented people.  Building a team like this is expensive.  Unless you’re in the business of providing analytics as your product, you don’t need to build this team (you should not build this team, did I mention its expensive).

This is why Dunn Solutions’ Analytics as a Service makes sense.  Pay for analytics when you need it; when you have an analytics need.  So, what does Analytics as a Service look like?

 

How Does Analytics as a Service Work?

A quick description of how it works:

• Organization subscribes with Dunn Solutions for a period of at least one year.
• We assign you an Analytics Concierge.
• CLIENT staff (IT & Business Users) will initiate analytics service requests with your concierge via the AaaS portal.
• Dunn concierge coordinates the required resources needed, including your IT staff.
• Our AaaS team fulfills the services requests and delivers to solution.
• The plan is executed for you by our analytics team.
• Once completed, your analytics are delivered to you.

Analytics Service Requests

What are analytics service requests?   They can be simple to complex.  Simple requests can usually be taken care of between you and your Analytics Concierge.  Examples are:

• I need a report that shows…(put in your requirements here).
• Who are my top 5 customers based on revenue?
• I need to connect my “BI tool” to a new data source.
• I have a large data set that I need stored for later use.

Complex Analytics Service Requests

More complicated requests would then require the assistance of other roles.  The analytics concierge takes care of those arrangements.  An example of a complicated request might look like this:

Request I need to provide KPIs on a dashboard along with supporting data for ad-hoc analysis.	Analytics as a Service Action KPIs come from highly processed and cleansed data.  One version of the truth – we need a Data Warehouse.  If the data warehouse exists and contains all the information needed… Create the needed wireframes, develop the dashboard, test and deploy.
Follow on Request Now we need forecasting on our dashboard…	Analytics as a Service Action To forecast KPIs you need predictive models. Deploy a data lake so the data scientist can build predictive models.  The output of the model is then loaded into the data warehouse and the data is exposed in the dashboard as forecasted information.
And another Request I need to know which of my customers are going to leave me (churn)!	Analytics as a Service Action Using data you already have (and remember, we know it well because we have been working with you to deliver those other analytic requests, we build a churn model. We use the data from the data warehouse and/or data lake.  We build a churn model and then automate it to feed the list of churners back to you (on a regular basis).

 

Conclusion: 

As you can see, doing analytics requires a diverse set of skills.  Analytics is the use of data to make informed business decisions.  Dunn Solutions’ Analytics as a Service provides you (and your organization) access to a highly skilled team of professions and technology to get from data to information when you need it and pay for what you use.  Think of it as having your own data scientists, data engineers and business intelligence experts on demand. 

Whether you are on your Digital Transformation Journey, or simply want to improve and optimize what you do today, Dunn Solutions' Analytics as a Service provides you with the talent and resources you need to get it done.