How to Use Database-Driven Analytics to Flourish Despite Economic Crisis

Bill Franks writes a good article on using analytics to succeed during economic troubles.  I especially agree with the initial thoughts on the "analytics power player."  I have observed the most successful analytics professionals in fundraising have understood major and annual gift fundraising strategy, IT/advancement services, and also data mining skills.  The ability to serve a cross-functional capacity is critical for not only adoption, but also measurable implementation.

Two fundamental shifts are occurring in the commercial world: the data environment is integrating and gravitating to the center of every business, and the roles of the analytics practitioner, the business analyst and the IT specialist are fusing. The emerging skill set is a multidimensional one, and the role might be described as that of "analytics power player" or one who knows how to best exploit a company's dynamic information assets for competitive advantage—while serving as a catalyst and bellwether for teams of his or her associates.

Read the article by Bill Franks