I recently returned from a prominent event in the analytics and business intelligence space, and even having been home for a few days, my excitement over where the industry is headed stemming from all the great discussion I heard during the week continues to grow. I was at the event from beginning to end, from opening key note with all the key analysts to the closing keynote with Francis Ford Coppola, and wanted to take a few moments to share some closing thoughts of my own stemming from this great event.

 

Growth in Analytics Continues to Amaze

When I first started attending this particular show (and others like it), it was all about reports and dashboards, maybe with some discussion of analytics perhaps mixed in. Maybe.  It was a modest show, and it had modest attendance by folks with titles such as director of data warehousing and director of business intelligence.  Today, “BI” shows have grown to attract thousands of C-suite, director-level, and analyst attendees.  Check out the massive room for the keynote!  The excitement palpable, as people came from all over to learn about how analytics has evolved over the years, how people can better leverage what they have inside their walls today, and what new technologies are helping drive analytics efforts forward.  As I share my experiences with my colleagues inside and outside Dell, my excitement continues to grow and spread to others – hopefully in a positive and contagious fashion.

The opening key note talked about how the new enterprise has so many stakeholders tasked with the creation, understanding, and sharing of the analytics.  These tasks are driving the emergence of new personas in the organizations – titles like chief data officer, along with an army of citizen data scientists and citizen Analysts.  This new audience of people is interested the challenges and opportunities being delivered via analytics.  Analysts at the event shared the idea that by adopting a hybrid solution of governed and agile IT, companies will be in the best position to evolve and advance their analytic initiatives.

During the closing keynote, we were equal parts entertained and wow’d by Francis Ford Coppola, who talked about all manner of things.  He shared interesting life stories with us, but most importantly, he talked about his career and shared advice that he would give to all of us.  “Do what you love” was the biggest takeaway. For me, getting to interact with Dell colleagues and customers to talk about the wide world of analytics – that’s pretty easy to do! 

   

 I love analytics and what it can deliver to our customers.  I have been a champion of analytics for many years now, and it thrills me to no end that the age of analytics continues to evolve and expand

 Please feel free to reach out to me if you have specific questions about the show or follow me on Twitter at @joschloss!

I am always happy to chat about what I love – analytics and the value it can deliver.

 

Anonymous
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