You already know the 80-20 Rule (80 percent of business profits come from 20 percent of clients). But what if your company was like AT&T and learned that 3 percent of iPhone customers used 40 percent of your network’s capacity? How did they find out? It had to be network data analysis –and its cousin business intelligence. The culprits were iPhone and other “smartphones” that are constantly trading data packets on the network. AT&T Mobility reported that in the three years since the iPhone was introduced, data traffic on the company’s network has grown by 5000 percent (nope, not a typo).
It was 2002 when Verizon created the first unlimited wireless data plan, according to Business Week. In those days, people still used phones mainly for calling and messaging. These days, people can spend hours watching video, playing games or streaming network audio as long as the network permits. Data analytics from providers like Xirrus can illustrate signal strength and paint pictures of network or WiFi coverage.
How are you tracking issues of profitability, resources or spending to ensure that customers are getting what they paid for but not overdoing it? There’s another rule to keep in mind — with or without analytics. Even at the most lavish buffet, the owner eventually comes along to say “Alright pal, that’s ALL you can eat — now get out!”
David Wallace
Spotfire Blogging Team
Image Credit: Microsoft Office Clip Art
