June 21, 2012

IBM Launches New Class of Analytics Software

IBM has released new predictive analytics software that automatically correlates and analyzes big data to help clients embed hyper-intelligence into every business decision. In addition to generating insights on internal data in a matter of seconds, the software measures the impact of social networking channels and factors this information into organizational decision making.

"In today's marketplace, when a customer says they're not happy, companies must decide how to react—not later that day, or in an hour, but instantly," said Deepak Advani, vice president of business analytics products and solutions at IBM, in a statement. "With these new technologies, winning organizations can embed analytics into under-served areas of their business, empowering all employees to make information based decisions."

The new Analytical Decision Management software, part of a series of IBM Smarter Analytics initiatives, helps clients apply automated, real-time analytics into any operational data, no matter where it resides, and instantly analyze it to uncover trends and expose hidden paths to growth. As a result, insights can now be automated, socialized, and used for predictive decision-making.

In a single platform, IBM has combined the power of business rules, predictive analytics, and optimization techniques through interfaces that allow users to focus on specific business problems. The resulting decision can be consumed by existing pre-packaged or custom-built applications, including many applications on the mainframe. The platform also takes advantage of IBM InfoSphere Streams technology where big data can be analyzed and shared in motion, providing real-time decision making in environments where thousands of decisions can be made every second.

IBM is also extending the analytical functionality with the inclusion of its newest Entity Analytics capabilities. For the first time, businesses can take advantage of Entity Analytics as part of the Decision Management Platform. This analytics engine enables identification and matching for all entities—people, places, or things—making systems smarter as more information becomes available. The IBM Entity Analytics capabilities are context-based and accumulate knowledge.

A new social network analytics feature enables companies to take sentiment analysis a step further by analyzing who the influencers are around any given topic, who exactly is listening, and why people should care. This feature enables decision makers to factor in how customers behave, what they say, and how big their sphere of influence is in a social network. For example, which other customers does this person know? Does this person influence others in their social network? The ability to incorporate social network analytics into the predictive models used in Analytical Decision Management helps organizations identify social leaders who can influence behavior.

IBM client C Spire, a telecommunications service provider, is using IBM analytics to get closer to customers by better predicting customer behavior and intervening before a problem ever arises, making their service and experience more personalized.

"The benefits we are able to see from using this advanced IBM analytics technology will give us the ability to put the right message in front of the right customer at the best time and in the best channel," said Justin Croft, manager of marketing campaigns and promotions at C Spire, in a statement. "We will now be able to deliver true personalization, giving the customer exactly what they need, without having to ask for it. Not only does this improve the customer experience, it also positively impacts sales and customer retention."

Today's announcement builds on the recent release of IBM's Operational Decision Management software and represents the first time that both Analytical and Operational Decision Management are provided to clients jointly on one platform. The news is part of IBM's larger focus on business analytics and optimization, which spans hardware, software, services, and research.

IBM projects $16 billion in business analytics revenue by 2015.