THE BLUE SHEET
College of Business & Public Administration data analytics and strategic thinking “Big data” is a hot topic these days, whether you’re in finance, marketing, fundraising, or social media. More and more buinesses are determined to improve their competitive edge by mining ever-growing mountains of data in every facet of their business. That was certainly the message of a recent online article in which the chairman of a Fortune 500 insurance company talked about his plans to “weaponize” data. Committed to preparing our learners to succeed, the College of Business and Public Administration, in collaboration with the College of Arts and Sciences, has launched a new major in Data Analytics. Students will learn to collect and interpret large-scale data, to convert that data into useful information, and to develop the communication skills needed to optimize decision-making in a business context. While the new major is a response to the nearly exponential growth in job opportunities for people with data management skills, Brad Meyer, co-chair of the Data Analytics program, views it as a shiny new label on a package of skills that the CBPA has been teaching for years. “Using data to help make optimal business decisions is not a new area of study at Drake.” According to Meyer, Actuarial Science students have long worked with large volumes of data and complex business models. The Actuarial Science program has always focused on helping students use data to develop better decision-making skills. What’s different today, in Meyer’s view, is the sheer quantity of data that is available in almost every corner of the business world, along with the computer capacity and advanced software to analyze it. Dan Peterson, bn’83, global managing principal, operations, for ZS Associates (a global consulting firm based in Evanston, Illinois) agrees. “I’m a poster child for business analytics training.” Majoring in Accounting and Actuarial Science at Drake, Peterson developed a valuable set of data-modeling and problem-solving skills. In accounting courses, he examined the dynamic relationship of inflows and outflows of cash. In actuarial science courses, he used probabilities and statistics to build and calibrate models of business decisions relevant to the insurance industry. Looking back, Peterson is convinced it was at Drake that he learned how to “state a business problem clearly and identify the critical elements of a dynamic system in an environment of uncertainty. Both these skills are essential for effective management in almost every business context.”
THE BLUE SHEET
fall 2015
Peterson concurs with Meyer that Drake’s focus on using data for effective and strategic problem-solving was present 30-plus years ago. What has changed in the business world, he suggests, is the volume of data available to be analyzed, as well as the array of tools used to do so. He points to the use of innovative algorithms—complex rules for solving a clearly defined problem—which often depend on powerful computers and useful data of the sort we now routinely get from sources like the Internet. Peterson notes that all three were just appearing on the horizon when he joined ZS Associates in 1984. “I got lucky when I joined a new firm whose founders were interested in applying the emerging art and science of algorithms to sales and marketing. Thanks to Drake, I was able to bring top-notch problem-solving skills to bear on developing and applying algorithms to meet the needs of consulting clients in fields far removed from, though conceptually parallel to, actuarial science. I am thrilled to see Drake bringing this focus to the next level with the creation of the Data Analytics major.” Ryan Kirk, as’09, bn’09, principal data scientist at CenturyLink in Seattle is another alumnus that attributes much of his success to the problem solving skills he learned at Drake, although he took quite a different route than Peterson. Long fascinated by consumer behavior, Kirk majored in Psychology but also studied Marketing; he went on to get a Ph.D. in Human-Computer Interaction from Iowa State University. Today, Kirk is actively engaged in what he calls “machine learning.” It relies on a series of algorithms that can analyze massive amounts of data and adapt marketing strategies, in real time, to changes in consumer behavior. It’s what allows Google to show you ads for Caribbean vacations only moments after you’ve searched for a hotel in the Bahamas. It’s what led Target to send coupons for baby clothes to a teenager who had not yet revealed her pregnancy to her family; based on her purchases of things like unscented hand lotion and specific vitamins, she matched the typical profile of a newly pregnant woman. Analyzing data on this scale was certainly not part of Kirk’s undergraduate experience, but he argues that technical skills alone won’t get you very far. “What I learned at Drake was the importance of integrating marketing and psychology,” says Kirk. “You have to understand consumer behavior to make sense of the data. But you also have to be able to communicate—to contextualize the information—to influence decision-making in an effective way.”