Looking at the Future of Business Intelligence

The traditional consumer goods market is in turmoil and the future of brick-and-mortar retailing is in doubt. But the path forward for both segments of the industry seems to be pretty clear: richer, more accurate analytics that can better predict consumer demand.

Richard Wagner, founder and chief executive officer of Prevedere, and Chris Dieringer, national sales director for retail & consumer packaged goods at Microsoft, came together to discuss that topic in April at the annual Retail & Consumer Goods Analytics Summit in Chicago. 

The two companies (and business partners) had just released a joint white paper titled "The Evolution of Business Intelligence." The report examines how cloud computing and global data analysis can help consumer goods companies take command of the future by developing a better understanding of how their businesses will perform.

"There are three things coming together extremely right now" to make 2018 a key moment in the evolution of business intelligence, according to Wagner. "The availability of global data … the power and scalability of cloud computing … [and] machine learning and prediction getting smarter."

Wagner and Dieringer drilled down into these and other topics during an interview with CGTeditor-in-chief Peter Breen. The interview was conducted before Prevedere and Microsoft jointly presented key findings from the report as part of a discussion on ways in which consumer goods companies can use data-driven insights to develop a holistic view of future demand. 

 To view highlights from the RCAS session, click here.