ABSTRACT
Business analytics has been defined as the “the extensive use of data, statistical and quantitative analysis, explanatory and predictive models, and fact-based management to drive decisions and actions” (Davenport and Harris, 2007). Complementary to this is the application of technology with the goal of exploiting data to understand and analyze business performance. Activities related to turning data into useful information in order to improve performance have been discussed under the umbrella of business intelligence (BI); however, it has been argued that this area is in fact part of the larger field of business analytics, which centers on the following key areas of organizational needs (Lustig et al., 2010):
• Information access. This is the foundation of business analytics that promotes informed and collaborative decision making across the organization. Its main goal is to ensure that decision makers understand how their area of the business is doing so they can make informed decisions.
