10 Benefits of Predictive Analytics: A Path to Improved Decisions

Recently I had the chance to speak with Nathan Greenhut of IBM about how predictive analytics has the potential to transform government operations. You can view the full interview by downloading the PDF here, or visit online.

Nathan states in the interview, “The volume and variety of information (structured and unstructured) is exploding. Turning data into information and then into action is becoming more important than ever before.” Nathan continues, “There is a larger burden placed on organizations, as the volume and variety of information grows. This makes a larger inertia to go from data rich and information poor to information rich. Also, planning for the size and shape of data is growing in importance to ensure the pipelines are built for the flow of data, information and action.”

It is clear that without a plan of action, a strong technological infrastructure and a plan for how to use data, agencies will be lost in the tsunami of data that is being created. This is where predictive analytics comes into play for government agencies, and holds great promise for the public sector to meet citizen demand. For government agencies, the power of analytics rest in the agency’s ability to transform data into knowledge.

Nathan stated, “Predictive analytics can be used for determining events or outcomes before they happen, simulation of a process to determine bottlenecks and risks as well as in “what-if” scenarios to determine the “best” course of action. For fraud, abuse, waste and error predictive analytics can be used to ensure the proper hurdles are placed for schemers and scammers to have to climb over.”

Armed with these kinds of insights, government agencies can make smarter business decisions and redefine business operations. During our discussion, Nathan identified 10 benefits for predictive analytics. Unquestionably, predictive analytics relies on an agencies ability to understand and transform data into insights.

1. Smarter detection
2. Prioritize workloads
3. Monitor progress and KPI’s
4. Detect patterns to initiate action
5. Aggregate and correlate information
6. Optimize processes and performance
7. Identity insights and relationships insights
8. Catch suspicious trends before loss occurs
9. Achieve improved collaboration and control
10. Embed logic into case management systems

Predictive analytics certainly holds great promise for government agencies. As government agencies are challenged to think of new and innovative ways to deliver on services, predictive analytics offers a way forward to transform agency wide service delivery. Be sure to view the entire interview with Nathan by visiting here.

The IBM Analytics Solution Center (ASC) is part of a network of global analytics centers that provides clients with the analytics expertise to help them solve their toughest business problems. Check out their Analytics to Outcomes group on GovLoop.