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We know that the ability to derive actionable insights from Big Data is a major challenge facing enterprise decision-makers. 

In particular, we see this frustration in industries where real-time intelligence can make a significant difference not just in operational cost savings, but also in proactive, optimization of business value.  In the real-time enterprise, real-time analytics must be integrated with operational metrics to guide intelligent management of activities and processes, identifying risks and opportunities - taking action before the impact on business value.

We know there's a gap between the data and action - a gap which can be defined as a semantic gap between the sensor and the pattern-based strategy that makes sense of the unstructured data - images, video feeds, waveforms, etc.

Where is intelligent value being created in your business?  Are you taking the time to review your strategy for intelligent solutions? 

This past year, when talking to senior managers in the Fortune 500, I've seen several key indicators of progress in this direction.  Not all motivations are pure, however.  First and foremost, we see decisions driven by fear - the fear of being outsmarted by the competition, fear of not being able to achieve the cost reduction directed by senior management, and the fear that while intelligent value creation may seem like a cool concept on paper, it may not deliver a clear ROI in practice.

Increasingly, we see businesses analyze the micro-details of their operations using unstructured data coming from sensors, devices, third parties, and the Web, sourced in real time on a large scale. Using advanced analytics techniques such as predictive analytics, data mining, statistics, and natural language processing, businesses can study live data streams to understand the current state of the business and track aspects such as customer behavior, productivity, quality and compliance. Intelligent value creation capabilities are now being extended to R&D and innovation as well to generate new insights and create value.

Companies can achieve growth and cost reduction through Intelligent Value Creation. 

In retail, we've all seen how Walmart outperforms the competition through advanced logistics and supply chain efficiencies. Intelligent logistics practices have optimized all transportation, distribution and supply chain areas.  Now the company has invested in an acquisition to improve their understanding of social analytics and customer experience.  By analyzing what they call the "Social Genome," Walmart labs is all about intelligent value creation. Here's how they describe the goal:

"The first generation of ecommerce was about bringing the store to the web. The next generation will be about building integrated experiences that leverage the store, the web, and mobile, with social identity being the glue that binds the experience."

And as we see in the news headlines, the automotive industry has gone through dramatic changes.  Toyota has maintained strong growth throughout the last 20 years by adopting intelligent value creation: constant improvement at its core, embraces learning faster about your products, systems and process.  The commitment to embrace change and improve your business is in itself ....intelligent.  Automotive companies that did not embrace constant improvement with a reliance on legacy products (e.g. GM) have suffered tremendous loss of market share.  Cutting costs and hacking away from a finance perspective does not create intelligent value.  GM was amazed at how Ford Motor Company reduced its work force in 2006 - 2008.  They referred to it as gutting the company.  Ford was focused..(pun intended) on creating new product lines that were truly competitive; the market responded in kind.

Improvement and commitment to understanding and exploiting market trends is intelligent.  Protecting existing market share - driven by fear - is not.

The healthcare industry is going through enormous changes as well.  Drug discovery - taking a new discovery to market - is a multi-billion dollar exercise in risk management.  Major pharmas are reducing product development and refocusing their business on much fewer product lines.  (Sounds a little bit like the autos a few years ago...) The only way for these companies to improve their cost metrics and revenues is through intelligent value creation.  Lab coats watching lab rats is not exactly creating systemic intelligent value.  The high cost of labor and a lack of intelligent solutions has forced biopharma into decisions to limit or outsource research initiatives.  But all that is changing.  At Neural ID, we have just completed an extensive survey of the healthcare industry, and we find clear indications that Intelligent Value Creation is at the heart of future plans for all the big players.

Intelligent Value Creation is a decision-making process which can be implemented using our agile methodology; we work with your technology and IT staff to bring a solution from definition to design to production in rapid succession - sometimes within hours, often in less than a week.

Stay tuned for more!

Who is Neural Dude?  He's the alter-ego of Neural ID CEO Tim Carruthers. A swashbuckling scientist dedicated to learning about intelligent analytics, big data, and using machine learning and pattern recognition technology to create new value for businesses and institutions. NeuralDude's mission is to engage analytics and AI practitioners focused on unstructured data. He's interested in intelligent value creation for image, video and waveform data types: How do we solve the most demanding unstructured data problems, requiring machine learning and recognition for AI and intelligent analytics applications?  NeuralDude wants to know: "Are you thinking about intelligent analytics?"

Technology brings us unprecedented analytic capabilities to solve critical pattern identification challenges and deliver enterprise value in real-time. Business are only just beginning to understand and tap into the possibilities and opportunities available.  The road is not well defined; this blog is our response to understanding the challenges and benefits of this new direction. NeuralDude wants to ask questions, discuss alternatives and help shed some light on this emerging space. Together, with your help, we'll bring together industry thought-leaders, professionals, and vendors to:

- Advance our collective knowledge of the definitions, trends, and technologies in the space

- Discuss the business impact of intelligent analytics, and pattern recognition applications in particular 

- Examine the strategic alternatives available - how are business models going to change?

- Understand how enterprise level businesses will be served - what are the risks and barriers to adoption?

- Clarify the choices and use cases for large enterprises, in a way that makes sense to business leaders

- Develop recommendations for creating a intelligent analytics discipline within your organization; present sample business justifications supporting intelligent analytics investments

- Define and understand the critical factors that contribute to improving the customer experience 

- Encourage discussions of lessons learned from practitioners

- Collaborate with vendors, businesses, and individuals to exchange ideas, create an online repository of "next" practices, and report on new developments as they occur

- Disseminate information on news, events, and relevant articles on a regular basis

- Create a framework for measuring intelligent analytics performance criteria

- Examine the critical security requirements and applications for intelligent analytics applications

- Invite contributions from experts in the field to answer your questions 

In essence, we're here to help you challenge traditional industry assumptions that are no longer valid.

Will you join the conversation?