The Future Of Business Success Is Here And It’s Called Data Analytics

• March 2023
• Grant Furlane, LocoMobi World

“Analytics is the systematic computational analysis of data or statistics. It is used for the discovery, interpretation, and communication of meaningful patterns in data. It also entails applying data patterns toward effective decision-making.”  

– Wikipedia

On a recent Smart City blog podcast, we invited Mark Majewski, a data analytics pioneer with a celebrated reputation, to share his wisdom with our audience. To say the least, his revelations were stunning. One of the many takeaways from our interview was his commitment to handling people’s data ethically to ensure privacy, and security that data does not go beyond its original intent.

In support of our claim that Mark is a data analytics industry pioneer, here’s his bio.

From his early beginning in the commercial world as an engineer serving various industries, to building a multinational semiconductor company in Canada with sales close to $200 million a year, Mark’s track record of success after success is the benchmark other industries use to gauge their success. During this period, Mark has been the VP of two start-up companies, the lead for Transformative Technologies at the Ontario Center of Excellence (OCE), and the CEO of intelliFLEX, an alliance of 130 innovative leading-edge companies. Currently, Mark is the Senior Vice President of Inovex, listed on the NYSE and many others as well.  

His lifetime of achievement has made him a catalyst for change, and commercialization. 

With a passion for building successful creative teams, collaborative ecosystems, and designing strategic plans, to their benefit, when Mark talks, people listen.

Due to his extensive business, and finance experience, there is more to Mark Majewski. Much more. Celebrated for his inventive and conceptual thinking across complex organizational structures, Mark works with multiple collaborators to integrate technical concepts within commercial products. All are designed to develop an innovative approach to policies, strategies, and today’s business challenges.

 SUCCESS STORIES

As a strategic thinker, Mark has transformed the way the following companies conduct their business.

Amazon, Telsa, Google, Phillips Healthcare, Rockwell, Siemens, Microsoft, Medtronics, P&G, Eaton, Eli Lilly, and Ford.

In addition to his busy schedule, he volunteers at RIC, and McMaster University, and is a much sought-after public speaker for seminars, academia, governments, and other organizations.

THE HOW

On the podcast, Mark told the audience that Inovex was created in 2002. With a new name soon to be published for the expanding company, it will continue to be a data foundation company working to align the company’s data to its data strategy.  He went on to say, many people have data that they don’t know how to properly use. When Inovex is engaged, we create a foundation that takes in all data to be used as leverage, knowledge, and value. This can be particularly beneficial to cities, governments, and the health sector. 

“You have to make sure the data is not biased, and your data centers are secure and leak proof. As a professional, it is critical to handle people’s data ethically.” 

THE WHY

“Organizations should only take and use the little bits of data they really need. These bits are determined by surveying the data available to a company and asking research questions on what the company’s issues are. What are they trying to solve within a certain time frame? Ask what you need to hold off on for a while and why it should wait.

Every action involving data has to be justified. Companies cannot have data just for the sake of holding on to it.

In today’s world, data analytics has become a buzzword used by many but understood by few. More people talk about ‘data’ but when asked to explain why they are doing the analysis and the purpose it will be used, can’t come up with a cogent answer. Not so with Inovex.” 

They take data and based on their analysis, help corporations make real-time decisions that help to achieve their corporate goals.

CASE STUDY 

One of their clients had been collecting data on Cystic Fibrosis for over 10 years. Working with Inovex they built a data foundation that has led to two Ph.D. papers discovering that Canadians are likely to live 5 years longer than someone in the USA with the same disease. The data was able to tell the doctor a timeline of what a patient can expect within a period of time, and a treatment plan to increase patient longevity. This data gives the medical profession preventive views with enough data that has been correctly curated without bias. Unfortunately, data from other countries are usually biased towards making money and not making patients better. 

BIAS EXPLAINED

Mark pointed out that biased data points are only useful to the extent that they show what other people are doing wrong. This allows peer review studies to determine what should and shouldn’t be occurring.

When asked by Cross how the analytics get to the right people and how Inovex distributes data, he had this to say. “We sit with our clients to discover what they need to better do their work.” Then gave an example of a project designing PPE for Ontario Health practitioners. They sat down with a nurse and asked what she needs within the PPE system. One of the things she asked for was to put a widget telling what the influenza rates in hospitals are. This would help her estimate how many employees might call in sick at any given time. The algorithms would help figure it out because it is built to connect the two aspects of her question.

In the realm of data analysis, Mark stressed that feedback is very important. “Many people do not feedback information they get, making matters worse. It’s the feedback that makes things work by helping check the validity of the data. And as we know, it can easily be corrupted. You need feedback loops to allow someone to review the data and make sure things are correct.”

PRIVACY AND SECURITY FIRST

Asked about the concern over privacy, in data analysis, Mark said, “In Canada, a privacy officer makes sure you design with privacy and security first. This will ensure the purpose of collecting, processing, and analyzing data is limited and does not go beyond its intended purpose.” 

Without a doubt, using Data Analytics to achieve corporate goals is the pathway to business success. Just ask Amazon, Telsa, Google, Phillips Healthcare, Rockwell, Siemens, Microsoft, Medtronics, P&G, Eaton, Eli Lilly, and Ford.

Better still, ask the pioneer with a celebrated reputation, Mark Majewski.