Competing with Data Challenge

April 09, 2018

Read The Full Prompt

In this module we have examined how data and analytics can be utilized in organizations of all types. For this assignment, please choose a company that uses data in a creative way to drive value creation, capture or operating model and then describe:

  • What does the usage or analysis of data create value for the company? How is it different from its competitors?
  • What does the company capture value from data and analytics? How is it different from its competitors?
  • How did it get to where it is now? What challenges did the company have to overcome? What challenges and opportunities do you anticipate for the company in the future?
  • For companies that failed to grow data-driven business models, what are the root causes for such failures?

Please try to use data and analytics to illustrate your arguments when possible. Create an approximately 500-750 word post at d3.harvard.edu/platform-digit.  Please create appropriate tags for your post. Please also respond to and comment on three other posts before class. Feel free to use graphics, data, videos and links to other sites to corroborate your points.

Submitted (85)

Silicon Valley’s Secretive Big Data Unicorn
Mike M
Posted on April 8, 2018 at 7:55 pm
Backed by In-Q-Tel, the CIA's venture capital arm, is this company making all of the right relationships to succeed in the big data world?
Toutiao – Will Machine Learning take out humans out of the equation?
MAB
Last modified on April 10, 2018 at 12:06 am
Toutiao started out as a news aggregating platform that leverages machine learning to provide customized content to the reader. Nevertheless, today with a valuation greater than the combination of NewsCorp and New York Times and more than 100 million Daily [...]
Under Armour’s Transition to a Data-Driven Fitness Lifestyle Company – Will it Pay Off?
Brittany W
Posted on April 7, 2018 at 1:01 pm
In 2013, Under Armour took a big bet in the data technology space and acquired a suite of companies worth over $700m. Kevin Plank, CEO of Under Armour, aimed that data-driven technology would lead Under Armour to generate up to [...]
DeepMind : between fine-tuning and disruption in the Healthcare industry
Y.Z.
Posted on April 9, 2018 at 4:45 pm
Imagine a world where doctors and nurses can have tasks taken off their day-to-day through data analytics and automation. A scenario where scans, tests results, follow-ups and notes are not only automatized but also given something the healthcare world desperately [...]
To wait or not to wait? Hopper takes the guesswork out of flight purchases
PD
Last modified on April 9, 2018 at 5:59 pm
Hopper uses a huge database of historical airfare data and daily sweeps of prices across multiple sites to predict future prices.
The IRS and Big Data: solving a big problem, problematically
L
Posted on April 9, 2018 at 6:06 pm
...and you owe him backtaxes.
Lenddo: using data analytics to boost financial inclusion
SAG
Last modified on April 9, 2018 at 10:53 am
Can social data and online behavior predict an individual’s propensity to default on a loan?
Flatiron Health – solving cancer through data analytics
Saurav Patyal
Last modified on April 9, 2018 at 5:39 pm
Flatiron Health is using data and analytics to tackle cancer, which it believes cannot be “solved” by just the healthcare community – it needs the technology industry as well. Therefore, since Flatiron started in 2012, it has grown to nearly [...]
WHOOP: The Data-Driven Fitness Wearable Lebron James & Michael Phelps Use
HC
Posted on April 9, 2018 at 5:21 pm
During an era of fitness wearable proliferation, WHOOP has become the favorite for professional athletes in the NFL, MLB, and NBA. Some of the highest profile athletes in the world are using WHOOP including both Olympian Michael Phelps and NBA [...]
AutoGrid is Turning the World’s Energy Data into Power
MMidd
Last modified on April 7, 2018 at 9:56 am
AutoGrid is using predictive data analytics to optimize and manage the ever-evolving energy grid of the 21st Century
Data Art: Transforming Personal Data into Digital Fingerprints
Cyou
Last modified on April 7, 2018 at 12:09 pm
Art can many times be used as a powerful tool to helps us find meaning in mass amount of data that is available in the world.
DeepMind: Who Needs Data to Learn?
Anton
Posted on April 9, 2018 at 5:52 pm
How Alphabet may have eliminated its data advantage when it bought DeepMind.
Sephora: Staying Ahead of the Amazon Threat
Sairah
Last modified on April 10, 2018 at 4:02 pm
Sephora should consider monetizing its personalization features, powered by consumer data on beauty preferences, to maintain its competitive edge.
Gap Inc.: Bridging the Gap between Data & Fashion?
KatFranklin
Last modified on April 9, 2018 at 11:52 am
In early 2015, Gap Inc. CEO Art Peck fired all of the company’s creative directors, claiming they were “false messiahs” for the company. Instead, Peck wanted to move the company to a decentralized data-driven approach to design and product development [...]
How does Electronic Arts keep players hooked?
Gloria
Last modified on April 9, 2018 at 5:38 pm
The gaming industry has faced significant changes and disruption in the past few years. As one of the world's biggest publishers of video games, how is EA responding to the challenges?
AMEX – Providing Data Driven Insights for Businesses
EAP
Last modified on April 9, 2018 at 5:56 pm
American Express took a new step forward in data analytics in November, 2017 when they launched American Express Advance, a state of the art, predictive analytics marketing platform for business clients.
Ancestry.com
Curtis Christensen
Posted on April 9, 2018 at 5:32 pm
Ancestry.com is combining cutting edge DNA testing with Family Trees to create and unlock value.
Alexa, what should I wear today?
ADW
Posted on April 9, 2018 at 3:41 pm
Amazon is leveraging Alexa to gain a deeper foothold in the apparel space.
“Like” this post if you want a better credit score
JZ
Posted on April 8, 2018 at 6:16 pm
Financial institutions are increasingly turning to nontraditional forms of data to evaluate creditworthiness. Lenddo is one of the start-ups seeking to change the way individuals are evaluated.
The Worldwide Leader in… Forecasting?
Ross Galloway
Posted on April 9, 2018 at 9:52 pm
How ESPN Leveraged Data to Predict its Demise, and Begin its Reinvention
Glow: Where Data Meets Baby-Making
CNH
Last modified on April 9, 2018 at 5:58 pm
You use your phone to hail rides, to order food, to fact-check the outlandish claims your friends make during dinner conversations... can your phone also help you get pregnant?
This Call May be Monitored to Help Us Help You
MHS
Posted on April 9, 2018 at 2:14 pm
Can algorithms really make us more empathetic? Cogito is using machine learning, data, and nudges to keep us all from pulling our hair out when contacting customer support. Co-founder Joshua Feast: “in some ways, we think of ourselves as a [...]
Minority Report IRL: Palantir and Predictive Policing
PH
Posted on April 9, 2018 at 5:48 pm
Palantir started as a data mining company focused on intelligence and defense, but has expanded in the past 15 years to be among the largest unicorns in the country, working in local government, financial services, and beyond
Ovia Health – Using data and analytics for family planning
TPA
Posted on April 8, 2018 at 6:50 pm
Data-analysis to reduce healthcare costs and improve employee retention
1 2 3 4