Big data and the role of decision software

Even supercharged data has a job to do, and the job is always about a decision – so says a recent MIT article ¹

And who are we to argue. So whilst the value of decision software’s promise has never been in doubt, the application of such was a different matter entirely.

So what’s changed? For one thing, the sheer scale and amount of data available electronically has given extra impetus to an automated solution. Additionally, the reduction in complexity of using the necessary expert systems and the development of open sourced software means that for the first time, real automated decision making is now within the grasp of many businesses.

Leading the charge is Omny Link, Ergo Digital’s technology arm, and with the development of One Decision, a collaboration between Omny Link and industry heavyweights Alfresco and Signavio, this early promise is now being realised. So much so, that a big 5 consultancy firm is working with us on a national European project.

Which industries are suitable?

So what sort of applications and industries lend themselves to decision management software? The most appropriate situations, unsurprisingly, are the ones where decisions need to be made frequently and rapidly. The knowledge and decision criteria have to be structured to a high degree and include a thorough understanding of the factors to be taken into account. If you can codify the decision rules and have access to high quality data, then away you go!

The obvious industries ripe for implementation include insurance (particularly underwriting) law, banking and travel. But the applications for this technology are only now being seriously realised. For example, within the marketing roles of SMEs, provided one is able to define the rules engine (a set of business rules that use conditional statements to address) the organisation in question would be able to apply automated decisions to their day-to-day working thereby enabling them to do more with less, and freeing up their managers to concentrate on their more important activities.

Go further

In the next blog, we’ll discuss how coupling decision software with workflow applications via the cloud and API connectivity is enabling dynamic companies to manage their workflows more effectively.

¹ MIT technology Review January 2014