Analytics in the News
Predictive Analytics Gains in Insurance Industry
According to a recent survey, the use of predictive analytics is on the rise in the insurance industry.
Insurance providers are increasingly interested in data or analytics solutions to help manage producers and improve their performance, according to a recent survey.
Trilogy Insurance & Financial Services partnered with Insurance Networking News to survey more than 100 insurance industry professionals on the current state of predictive analytics in the insurance sector. According to the research findings, insurance providers have made investments in analytics tools over the year but are just beginning to realize the significance of technology to help manage provider performance.
The top three benefits of insurance companies' current data and analytics solutions are customer segmentation, improving the competitive advantage of insurance carriers and retaining existing insurance customers.
OR to Fight Homelessness
Abraham Lincoln long ago charged the nation with the duty to “care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan.” NPS Operations Research (OR) student Marine Corps Maj. David Coté has tried to do just that in his seven years of work as a volunteer with the Veteran’s Village of San Diego (VVSD), a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping homeless veterans access the resources and assistance they need to get back on their feet.
Upon learning about data analysis and modeling in his OR curriculum at NPS, Coté found a way to apply his studies to the cause that had long been close to his heart. Come graduation in December, Coté’s master’s thesis research will have produced a tangible model for helping treatment providers identify homeless veterans most at risk for early exit from a treatment program.
Six Lies of Big Data
Our InformationWeek 2013 Big Data Survey shows that some companies are making progress. For example, most have built the required infrastructure and support various roles, in terms of primary data users; about one-third say they encourage wide access to information for business users. However, when it comes to data acquisition and use models, the wheels start to fall off. There are major gaps in data analysis, even for the most common types of information: transaction data, system logs, email, CRM, Web analytics.
Worse, fewer than 10% of the respondents to our survey say that ideas for promising new data points are primarily driven by a collaborative or cross-functional team within their companies.
US Coast Guard, USC Win INFORMS Wagner Prize for Protecting America’s Ports, Waters from Terror Attack
HANOVER, MD, November 21, 2012 – The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS®) today announced the award of the Daniel H. Wagner Prize by CPMS, the association’s Practice Section, to the U.S. Coast Guard and its research partner, the University of Southern California’s Viterbi School of Engineering. The winners used analytics and operations research to ramp up protection of America’s ports and waterways from unpredictable terrorist attack.
Online BI Courses Are a Hit
Organizations are catching on to the idea that with the right data and organization, they can implement better strategies and discover advantages. That’s why employees with business intelligence skills are in demand. They’re able to use knowledge to get ahead and make good decisions for the company. Courses like MIT Sloan School of Management’s Optimization Methods in Management Science are great for learning about the theories and application behind business intelligence and optimization.
