I M A G E B Y O X Y G E N

8 ling—in four business functions? In 2015, we conducted a survey of 197 mid-level U.S.-based managers in finance ( 49), marketing ( 50), HR ( 49), and operations ( 49) functions on their current and future use of various analytics applications.

We found the current and future uses of various analytics applications for the four functions are different. Following our survey findings, we suggest analytics preparedness, as well as design of data-literacy programs within those functions, will need to match the use of each function. Practitioners can also use our findings to benchmark their respective organizations’ current and future use of analytics applications by business functions.

The rest of this article is organized as follows: We first characterize different types of analytics applications in the four functions, then describe three dimensions of managerial work. We present our findings on the current, or

2015, and future use, or five years out,
or 2020, of different types of analytics
applications to support the three di-
mensions. We then compare the cur-
rent and future use of analytics sepa-
rately in finance, marketing, HR, and
operations functions, respectively.

Analytics Applications

Analytics applications are often char-
acterized as static reports/interactive
dashboards, descriptive analytics,
predictive analytics, prescriptive ana-
lytics, and big data analytics. Static
reports/interactive dashboards refer
to database queries shown as reports
and dashboards to users. Descriptive
analytics employ summary statistics
(such as mean, mode, and median)
to characterize data and generate in-
sights. Predictive analytics—using
such tools as SAS Enterprise Miner,
SPSS Modeler, and R—centers on
data mining and machine learning
techniques to better understand what
will happen in the future based on
historical data. Prescriptive analyt-
ics—simulation or optimization us-
ing such tools as @Risk and Crystal
Ball—seeks to determine what should
be done in the future. Big data analyt-
ics—the use of various types of data
involving the Hadoop/NoSQL ecosys-
tem—concentrates on uncovering
hidden patterns and understanding
previously unknown correlations,
market trends, customer preferences,
and other useful information from
unstructured (non-tabular) data.

We first highlight the use of analytics in four functions—finance, marketing, HR, and operations—then describe the different dimensions of managerial work.

In finance, marketing, HR, and operations functions. Finance and accounting functions are the custodians and curators of financial data. As part of the accounting/finance function, collectively referred to as the “finance function” here, planning and budgeting set targets for revenue, expenditure, and cash generation, usually relying on spreadsheets. 11 The objective of financial close reporting is to produce financial statements in “board book”