International Institute for Analytics

All business is digital. This is a simple matter of physics: Atoms are full of friction; bits are abundant and limitless. Analytics is the job of measuring those bits, and acting on what’s learned in ways that improve the business. That’s why companies that rely on data-driven iteration beat those who shoot from the hip.

Nobody really wants more data…they want just enough, high quality information to help them make decisions. But information is insufficient for making good decisions. Good decisions are rooted in a culture and its ethics: the way people in an organization or community relate to one another, design good decision-making processes, and develop systems of accountability. Without doing this work, it’s easy for organizations to develop what can only be called a data addiction. This session will highlight the worst ways to get your data “fix,” and the best ways to replace this addiction with a decision-making approach rooted in a shared system of values, process and accountability.​​​

Data is moving from being the source of reports to the centre of a product’s value proposition.

Products fueled by data and machine learning can be a powerful way to solve users’ needs. They can also create a “data moat” that can help stave off the competition. The lifecycle of a data product in many ways mirrors standard product development: identifying the opportunity to solve a core user need, building an initial version, and then evaluating its impact and iterating. But the data component adds an extra layer of complexity.

Founded in 2012, the ANNY has been awarded to teams in many industries who have made profound changes to their organization through analytics projects. IIA reviews all applications to select the application that best illustrates the use of advanced analytics in innovative ways to drive measurable business results.

Founded in 2012, the ANNY has been awarded to teams in many industries who have made profound changes to their organization through analytics projects. IIA reviews all applications to select the application that best illustrates the use of advanced analytics in innovative ways to drive measurable business results.

Founded in 2012, the ANNY has been awarded to teams in many industries who have made profound changes to their organization through analytics projects. IIA reviews all applications to select the application that best illustrates the use of advanced analytics in innovative ways to drive measurable business results.

Founded in 2012, the ANNY has been awarded to teams in many industries who have made profound changes to their organization through analytics projects. IIA reviews all applications to select the application that best illustrates the use of advanced analytics in innovative ways to drive measurable business results.

While early adopters of AI technologies are projected to share a global profit pool valued at $1 trillion, more than 95% of companies have not yet embraced AI technology to reinvent how they do business. A key reason for slow adoption is a shifting and uncertain regulatory landscape. Global, national and jurisdictional regulatory rules about data and AI are unclear and companies are rightly concerned about reputational and legal consequences associated with a possible misstep such as a privacy or security breach.

Having just come out of stealth mode in July, University of Michigan Professor, former Ford control algorithm innovator and now startup co-founder and CEO of Refraction, Matthew Johnson-Roberson has jumped into the autonomous vehicle race. But he has a particular angle that has yet to be addressed – delivery robots that can operate in rough weather, such as Michigan winters. Matthew will talk about Rev-1, his new delivery robot, and the decisions that went into defining a market opportunity that leveraged the analytics potential of what could be developed.

Many companies are dipping their toes into artificial intelligence, but only a few are attempting to put AI at the core of their strategies and business models. As with analytics, taking a leading position on AI is likely to be rewarded with competitive success. Tom will describe what companies that aspire to be “AI First” do, and how other companies can learn from their pioneering approaches.