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)

McData: underdog McDonalds using data to defy its naysayers
Austin
Last modified on April 5, 2018 at 9:58 pm
New McDonalds CEO Steve Easterbrook set the company on a data-driven transformation to improve its customer experience.
The Most Data Driven Salad You Will Ever Eat
E. Haviland
Last modified on April 3, 2018 at 9:21 pm
"We’re always looking for what’s next, but it’s important for us to do it the Sweetgreen way." Farryn Wiener, VP of Marketing, Sweetgreen.
Netflix: Your Data, Your Show, Your Experience
B4AD56
Last modified on April 4, 2018 at 6:11 pm
Netflix has been the poster child of combining data-driven growth with creative choices. At its core, the Netflix big data approach to media has resulted in more personalized entertainment experiences for subscribers and better creative decision making.
Correlation Ventures: Taking the “Gut Feel” out of VC
jessica
Posted on April 9, 2018 at 4:25 pm
Correlation Ventures leverages a comprehensive database on VC financings and an associated predictive model to make rapid VC investment decisions based on data.
Spotify may know you better than you realize
RPARK
Last modified on April 8, 2018 at 4:41 pm
Spotify, the largest on-demand music service, uses big data, artificial learning, and machine learning techniques to deliver a unique and personalized music listening experience.
Amsterdam Smart City (ASC)
JSG
Posted on April 8, 2018 at 1:59 pm
Amsterdam is on a mission to turn itself into the smartest city in the world
Winning the Super Data Bowl: Eagles Fly on 4th-Downs
Hans Latta
Last modified on April 4, 2018 at 12:27 am
For years, data analysts have decried NFL coaches for punting on 4th-down. After winning their first Super Bowl, the Philadelphia Eagles may have finally busted the myth that punting on 4th-down is the safe, conservative choice.
Spotify uses listener data to predict, test, and create hit songs.
@Jesse
Last modified on April 8, 2018 at 9:58 pm
Spotify uses listener data to predict, test, and create hit songs. "By the time a song lands on Todays Top Hits or other equally popular sets, Spotify has so relentlessly tested it that it almost cant fail.
Using data analytics to optimize employee engagement
Lama
Last modified on April 6, 2018 at 9:29 pm
Gone are the days during which CEOs and leaders of big, complex, multinational teams struggle to understand employee engagement. Say goodbye to menial HR surveys that weakly reflect reality and to post-damage exit surveys that raise issues very late. In [...]
Moreyball: The Houston Rockets and Analytics
zs
Posted on April 5, 2018 at 3:12 pm
How the Houston Rockets have taken basketball analytics to the next level and risen to the top of the NBA
Garbage In, Flaming Dumpster Fire Out: The Cautionary Tale of Tay
JLuo
Posted on April 6, 2018 at 5:57 pm
The launch of Microsoft's Tay chatbot exposed the risks of over-reliance on data without proper human judgment.
Tinder romance algorithm: just keep swiping
Iryna
Posted on April 8, 2018 at 9:38 pm
Launched in 2012, Tinder has become one of the top dating apps thanks to it user friendly design, mobile-first approach, and matching algorithm
Humanyze-ing the workplace: gathering and analyzing unique data on employee interaction to improve productivity
JPW
Posted on April 4, 2018 at 6:17 pm
The people analytics industry is expected to grow to $1B in value by 2022. Humanyze, a Cambridge based startup, is at the forefront of the people analytics charge – the firm has developed a software platform for integrating multiple sources [...]
Predictive Maintenance of Elevators
Shiv
Last modified on April 8, 2018 at 8:37 pm
Otis the is the world leader in elevator installation and service, yet it only has a market share of 10%.  As can be seen the industry is very competitive and so a significant basis of competition is its cost. And [...]
Allstate Drivewise: Keeping our Roads Safer
JC
Posted on April 7, 2018 at 8:49 am
Historically, car insurance companies priced premiums based on factors such as what type of car you drive, your past driving history, age, gender and where you live. During the past 5-10 years, insurance companies have been changing the way they [...]
AltSchool: Learning about Learning
HBS123
Posted on April 7, 2018 at 12:30 pm
AltSchool is using a data intensive approach to personalize K-12 education
Using Machine learning to protect wild animals
Ting
Last modified on April 9, 2018 at 1:17 am
  The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is now partnering with Google’s Cloud AutoML platform to use machine learning to protect wild animals. The partnership can help ZSL leverage Google’s expertise in image recognition to automatically analyze millions of images captured by cameras in [...]
They know when you’re going to quit – even before you do
DF
Last modified on April 7, 2018 at 6:41 pm
Some companies think they can predict when you're going to quit based on people who seem similar to you. And they're going to tell your boss.
Nielsen: What people watch, what people buy
Nandx
Posted on April 8, 2018 at 6:29 pm
Selling the understanding of what consumers watch, what they buy, and how those intersect
Darden Restaurants – Winning Customers with Data
M
Posted on April 9, 2018 at 3:37 pm
Restaurants are looking to data to differentiate themselves in a rapidly changing competitive environment
The Golden State Warriors – Data & Talent = Heart! 
u.know.it
Posted on April 8, 2018 at 10:09 pm
The Golden State Warriors - Data & Talent = Heart! A blog about the use of data analytics by an NBA franchise that led to the end of a 40 year NBA finals championship drought.
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 [...]
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