IBM Ties Real-Time Business Analytics Into Social Networks

IBM said that it is offering a new predictive analytics software as part of its Smarter Analytics initiative that can plug into virtually any kind of big data anywhere and provide analytics in real time.

IBM promises that it can help make organizational decisions by uncovering trends and exposing "hidden paths to growth." Described as "hyper-intelligence," IBM says the software even measures "the impact of social networking channels and factors this information into organizational decision making."

The core of the information used by the engine is pulled from sources such as marketing, claims processing and fraud detection. The idea is that the software will combine all information, analyze and instantly suggest the best possible action in any scenario to any employee.

“In today's marketplace, when a customer says they're not happy, companies must decide how to react – not later that day, or in an hour, but instantly,” said Deepak Advani, vice president business analytics products and solutions, IBM. “With these new technologies, winning organizations can embed analytics into under-served areas of their business, empowering all employees to make information based decisions.”

The social network analytics monitors the influencers and their audience around any given topic, which is promised to provide a company with intelligence on "how customers behave, what they say, and how big their sphere of influence is in a social network." A company would be able, for example, know what other customers are known to a specific person, and identify critical influencers for an organization.

IBM said it expects sales of about $16 billion in business analytics revenue by 2015. To achieve that goal, the company already employs approximately 9,000 business analytics and optimization consultants and 400 researchers.

The company did not reveal a specific name for the new software, but offers the solution as part of its analytics software and services.