Analytics Magazine Analytics Magazine, March/April 2014 | Page 33

audit process. This should be a structured process that, on a pre-defined frequency, takes a critical look at every data element (from raw data to derived metrics) and evaluates its value. If it turns out that the value derived by business from that data element is decaying, follow-up with corrective action – either refresh the computation method to revise the data element or replace the data element completely. This alone should set companies well along the way to incorporate the concept of information decay into their data DNA. Over time, we expect information decay – which we now refer to as “µDecay” – to be formalized as an attribute of every information entity. And once organizations begin to measure information decay and drive corrective actions, the value they can extract out of data assets will grow. Dhiraj Rajaram is the CEO of Mu Sigma, an analytics services provider that provides services to more than 75 of Fortune 500 companies. Krishna Rupanagunta is the “geography head” and Aditya Kumbakonam is the “delivery head” at Mu Sigma. Successful Applications of Customer Analytics WCAI 2014 Annual Conference Thursday, May 1, 2014 Philadelphia, PA Opening Keynote Speaker Thomas H. Davenport As a research center positioned at the intersection between academics and industry, The Wharton Customer Analytics Initiative (WCAI) will be showcasing presentations that illustrate a high level of rigor but are also broadly accessible to practitioners. Featuring MGM, Cleveland Indians, Pfizer/Kaggle, GE, Deloitte, Nielsen, and Visible World, presentations and case-studies will cover a wide range of challenges pertaining to customer-level data, including: Emerging sources of television advertising response data Driving season ticket sales Modeling attrition and managing customer churn Improving the effectiveness of marketing campaigns by micro-targeting individual customers Forecasting new product sales one customer at a time A NA L Y T I C S Register Now www.wharton.upenn.edu/wcai M A R C H / A P R I L 2 014 | 33