Using Analytics in Tough Times: Quiet action starts the fight against “doom and gloom”

Now, I can’t make any promises and wouldn’t dream of offering any forecasts. But behind all those gloom-and-doom headlines and talk show rants, there’s another set of forces at work. It’s pretty quiet right now, but it’s there, and it’s growing.

A recent Wall Street Journal headline shrieked about risk models failing “to pass real-world tests.” The article says that the models didn’t factor in some criti…

Now, I can’t make any promises and wouldn’t dream of offering any forecasts. But behind all those gloom-and-doom headlines and talk show rants, there’s another set of forces at work. It’s pretty quiet right now, but it’s there, and it’s growing.

A recent Wall Street Journal headline shrieked about risk models failing “to pass real-world tests.” The article says that the models didn’t factor in some critical, detailed information and so, failed to help in today’s reality.

Yet, a Teradata customer — a major bank — has quietly improved its risk management. The bank used to have data scattered across multiple silos and could only report its risk position with 75% accuracy. Since integrating its data and implementing a Teradata Enterprise Risk Management solution, its decision makers have a comprehensive view of risk exposure across all product lines and business units. This bank’s managers now take action on risk factors knowing that their data is accurate.

On another front, the noise level is getting louder and louder as retailers gear up for what most seem to think will be a weak holiday shopping season.

Again, fairly quietly and effectively, some of our customers are using analytics running on Teradata to tightly manage their supply and demand chains, to prevent fraud and to make highly tailored offers to their customers … all in order to keep ahead of their competitors.

In the B2B space, some pundits would have us believe that full-blown doom has hit and will be with us for months or, worse yet, years to come. Yet, another customer has been able to measure real revenue growth and customer retention lift from its use of a Teradata customer management solution that has paid for its investment more than 20x.

Sure, these are tough economic times and will probably get tougher. But if I look at the world through Teradata-orange-colored glasses, I see opportunity, not just crisis.

Darryl McDonald
CMO, Teradata

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