Predictive Analytics Can Be A Game-Changing Opportunity For Software Developers

By Christine Kern, contributing writer

Companies are increasingly turning to predictive analytics to compete and thrive. Rather than relying on intuition when pricing products, maintaining inventory or hiring talent, managers are using data, analysis, and systematic reasoning to improve efficiency, reduce risk, and increase profits.

In a roundup of forecasts and predictions last year, Forbes cited Wikibon that projects the Big Data market to exceed $84 billion in 2026 and Frost & Sullivan that predicts the global Big Data market will reach $122 billion in revenue by 2025. In addition, CompTIA’s Big Data Insights and Opportunities report that 72 percent of early adopters are finding their Big Data initiatives are turning in results that exceed expectations.

As Investment News points out, “The predictive abilities that experts say are coming from the massive amounts of information being gathered around the Web will be a game changer, and broker-dealers are figuring out how to position themselves to deliver on this disruptive technology.”

It’s also captured the attention of healthcare, retail, manufacturing, and other markets. And it should capture the attention of software developers, too.

Aaron Spradlin, CIO of United Planners Financial Services, tells Investment News the goal of using Big Data is to provide more insight into the decisions being made and to identify potential trends or client risks that can help advisers make better decisions. For Spradlin, outside software and other technology vendors are the piece that will make it possible for broker-dealers to bring predictive elements to advisers. He says, “When you look at Big Data, it’s very sophisticated, and there’s some really cool tools out there, but it’s not easy to do.”

Software developers are the necessary link that can harness the power of Big Data and create user-friendly tools that apply it to the marketplace. How is your ISV capitalizing on this opportunity?