Accenture Technology Vision 2013

Trend 3. Data Velocity
Accenture Technology Vision 2013
Narrowing windows
of opportunity
Another powerful factor pushing
the need for more data more quickly
is that the windows of opportunity
are smaller in almost all business
endeavors. The windows have been
closing for some time. In the 1980s,
Harvard Business Review explored
the topic, notably with its landmark
v
article on time-based competition.
And decades ago, then General
Electric chief Jack Welch was
famously preaching about speed
and responsiveness.
Speed of response is increasingly
important at the functional and
transactional levels. Take Web
interactions, for instance. Let’s say
you run a retail company: when a
shopper lands on your product page,
you’ve got a few split seconds to
give her information that is relevant
and engaging. But we’re not talking
just about short page-load times.
The key is in how to leverage insight
to make that experience awesome.
You have to be able to connect with
the shopper—tying the experience
together based on past interactions,
purchase history, questions she
e-mailed to your customer-support
team, social links, and any other data
or any insight you can muster. The
same holds true when you want to
bid in real-time ad auctions to try
to lure shoppers back to your site
from elsewhere on the Web. In the
milliseconds available, you need the
ability to process the data tidbits
at hand so that you can compose a
message that is personal, intriguing,
and compelling enough to prompt
a shopper to click your ad, bringing
you the traffic you seek.
Fast data responses and rapid
analysis are also crucial in the
maintenance and repair world. At the
extreme, a grounded airplane costs
airlines as much as $250,000 per day;
an oil rig that isn’t drilling can cost
$1 million per day. The sooner an
equipment malfunction or imminent
shutdown can be detected, and the
more detailed the data about the
equipment’s condition, the quicker it
can be repaired and made productive
again—and, if captured, the more data
there will be to help predict future
breakdowns and more effectively plan
future maintenance regimens.
The story is similar for dynamic
supply chains. Responding to
changes in the supply chain with a
combination of historical data and
brand-new intelligence allows you
to create a more responsive, resilient
supply chain. If your company was
unable to properly see a recent drop
in production yields from an aging
manufacturing plant, you may have
difficulty meeting customers’ orders
on time. You did not match your
speed of insight with speed
of action.
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