Business Analytics: Radical Shift or Incremental Change?

Business analytics systems are seen by many to be a growing source of value and competitive advantage for businesses. However, it is not clear if increasingly advanced analytical capabilities create opportunities for radical change in business or just represent an incremental improvement to existing systems. What are the key questions that researchers should be focusing on to improve our understanding of analytics? And are IS programs teaching students the right things to be successful in this environment? This panel aims to take stock of technological possibilities, practical experience and leading research to assess the current state and future direction of business analytics. In doing so, it will bring together senior researchers and industry representatives to share the leading challenges, opportunities and good practice that they see

Business Analytics: Radical Shift or Incremental Change?

Business analytics systems are seen by many to be a growing source of value and competitive advantage for businesses. However, it is not clear if increasingly advanced analytical capabilities create opportunities for radical change in business or just represent an incremental improvement to existing systems. What are the key questions that researchers should be focusing on to improve our understanding of analytics? And are Information Systems (IS) programs teaching students the right things to be successful in this environment? This panel at International Conference on Information Systems (ICIS) 2012 took stock of technological possibilities, practical experience and leading research to assess the current state and future direction of business analytics. In doing so, it brought together senior researchers and industry representatives to share the leading challenges, opportunities and good practice that they see

Creating, Capturing and Measuring Value From IT Investments: Could We Do Better?

Spending on IT continues to show long-term growth throughout the economy, reflecting an apparent belief in the economic benefits of IT. However, we also see organizations struggle in practice to demonstrate such benefits. Conventional thinking suggests that individual organizations can improve their performance in this area through better financial analysis of opportunities. But does this characterization of the solution reflect the real problem? Is there more value that can be achieved through IT at a macro level or are we simply seeing market competition with winners and losers? And will better understanding of the detailed financial consequences of IT systems enable businesses to improve decisions and achieve greater returns? This 2009 ICIS panel session reflected on the literature on IT value over the last thirty years, the future direction of research and the relationship between research and the needs of business in this area