Question

Briefly explain using a short case study as to how organizations are using prescriptive analytics for the purpose of strategic/tactical/financial planning to achieve enterprise optimization (minimum 160 words)

Answer 1

• Prescriptive Analytics is a mix of predictive analytics (forecasting/predicting future) and descriptive analytics (drawing insights from past data).
• Any industry that produces large amounts of data can use prescriptive analytics. A potent example would be the energy industry.
• Strategically, energy firms can look into data of seismic activity, soil deposits, temperature/pressure of the earth to find more productive sites for excavation and drilling.
• Tactically, data related to oil viscosity, coarseness, rock structure and composition of minerals etc can all help to find which type of equipment to use.
• Another use is to find alternative sources of energy, which are unpredictable and do not warrant justifying a full project. Prescriptive analytics might help in finding such sources which have remained untapped. This also creates future business prospects for the energy firm.
• Financially, this data will also increase productivity, reduces instances of a failed project, reduce cost by minimizing wear and tear of equipment.
• It can also help in predetermining the possible outcomes of these excavations, creating a more predictable future planning.
• Other organisations (say, a mobile phone manufacturer) can use it to determine the characteristics of a future product (say, holographic phones) based on their expected acceptance by the people.