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)

Target: You Can’t Hide That Baby Bump From Us
ME
Last modified on April 9, 2018 at 4:28 pm
Target knows more about you than your closest friends and family. Beware the all-seeing, all-knowing Bullseye.
The story behind Toutiao, the $20 billion news aggregator app
Peter Chen
Last modified on April 9, 2018 at 5:38 pm
Toutiao, a wildly popular news reader app in China, has recently reached a valuation of $20 billion in last round of $2 billion fundraising. Started by a former software engineer Yiming Zhang in 2012, Toutiao experienced exponential growth for the [...]
Houston Rockets and “Moreyball”
RobD
Last modified on April 9, 2018 at 6:24 pm
The Houston Rockets used Data-Driven Decision making to become an Elite NBA Team
Ginger.io: An app that monitors your mental health
D
Last modified on April 9, 2018 at 5:28 pm
Ginger.io is using smartphone data to draw insights and offer customized care for people engaging with mental illness.
Top Stock Market API Providers – A Guide for Investors
Rexxar
Last modified on February 17, 2021 at 8:03 pm
A review of the top-notch stock APIs in 2020-2021 for tech-savvy investors, asset managers, and software developers.
NEXT BIG SOUND | Think Moneyball, But For Music
Juan
Posted on April 8, 2018 at 10:35 pm
There is more science to creating a musician’s career that meets the eye, and Next Big Sound has been cracking the code for the past ten years.
SOFI
Christie
Posted on April 9, 2018 at 5:42 pm
Historically, financial institutions have relied on FICO credit scores to determine whether or not to make loans to individuals. SoFi uses customer data to personalize lending, enabling them to offer lower rates and savings for customers.   SoFi was initially [...]
Kroger: Doubling down on data in the face of hungry competition
HU
Posted on April 9, 2018 at 3:47 pm
Kroger, the world’s third largest retail chain, has become one of the most data-centric organizations in the $600 billion grocery industry.
Using data in the airline industry – two very different approaches
Pasha
Last modified on April 9, 2018 at 5:01 pm
Dynamic Pricing and Hidden City Fares - two very different ways to drive value using data in the airline industry
What should I wear this morning? Stitch Fix can tell you thanks to its algorithm
A
Last modified on April 9, 2018 at 6:29 pm
Stitch fix leverages its algorithm to revolutionize not only the way customers shops for clothes online, but also how they perceive fashion trends and identify their own style.
Is Quant the New King in Town?
LT
Posted on April 7, 2018 at 2:06 pm
The "quant" revolution in trading is well underway, but how do they leverage their data and what new risks does this introduce?
DARE TO LIE?
AyhanSebin
Last modified on April 9, 2018 at 4:12 pm
Deception Analysis and Reasoning Engine (DARE) leverages Artificial Intelligence to detect deception in the courtroom. The researchers trained the Artificial Intelligence to detect five different micro-expressions. Five micro expressions related to lying are frowning, eyebrow raising, lip corners turning up, [...]
Vitality: A data-driven approach to better health
EIO
Posted on April 9, 2018 at 4:56 pm
If you were rewarded to engage in healthy behaviors, would you take better care of yourself? Vitality, founded in South Africa, is the world’s first health insurer to use behavioral economics and data analytics to incentivize customers to live healthier. [...]
Transforming the audit with data analytics
Haley
Posted on April 9, 2018 at 1:01 pm
Accounting firms are beginning to recognize the power of using data analytics in the audit.
Using data analytics to bend morbidity curves
Crystal
Last modified on April 9, 2018 at 4:35 pm
Through behavioural economics and data analytics, the Vitality wellness program has allowed dynamic underwriting that creates value for insurance companies and their members
Legendary Pictures: Moneyball for Hollywood?
Chris
Last modified on April 9, 2018 at 9:38 pm
This movie studio has been relying on analytics to make better production and marketing bets.
Blacklist: Data + Intuition = Hollywood’s good bet
Call Me By Your Name
Posted on April 9, 2018 at 5:32 pm
When you watch your favorite film, maybe it is “THE KING’S SPEECH”, or “SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE”, or “ARGO”, have you ever thought that these successful productions would have never been shoot into films if it was not because of a website [...]
MedAware – Using AI to eliminate prescription errors
JY
Posted on April 9, 2018 at 5:04 pm
MedAware's machine-learning algorithms mine data gathered from millions of electronic medical records to detect outliers in prescription behavior and flag them in real-time to healthcare providers
How Cable Companies Are Using Data to Compete With Digital
SLA
Last modified on April 9, 2018 at 1:28 pm
Telco's are finally using data to better attract advertisers. But is it enough to stave off the trend of ad dollars moving toward digital platforms?
Big Data — A deal recommended for YOU
Jean Grey
Last modified on April 9, 2018 at 6:25 pm
How is Big Data and Recommendation Engines shaping customers’ preferences and experiences in e-commerce?
LEVI’S & INTEL – RFID PILOT AT LEVI’S
CW
Posted on April 8, 2018 at 1:23 pm
Intel team members designed and implemented radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags, in-store sensors, a gateway system, and cloud-based analytics into an extensible open-source platform in order to deliver near-real time inventory monitoring.
Tala: Using Machine Learning to Provide Access to Credit for the World’s Unbanked
DM
Last modified on April 9, 2018 at 5:59 pm
Tala has been a pioneer in the alternative lending space. Founded by Shivani Siroya, the Santa Monica based company has demonstrated tremendous success in providing credit to people who are unbanked. Tala uses machine learning from a user’s smartphone to [...]
Could the Next Great Screenwriter be A.I.?
NT
Posted on April 9, 2018 at 11:26 am
Probably not anytime soon.
Health Catalyst: Solving Data in Healthcare
Jay Kumar
Last modified on April 9, 2018 at 3:53 pm
Health Catalyst is a rare story of success in the difficult area of cataloguing and translation of healthcare data into actionable insight.
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