We believe that analytics can empower decision makers of all types. The applications for data-driven methodologies are plentiful, but a few stand out examples are particularly representative of Praescient’s domain expertise:

Understand Global Events

Citizens caught up in conflict or humanitarian crises often report details about these events on the internet. Analysts can use this information, gathered from news reporting, social media, blogs, official studies, and other sources, to gain insights into the social, political, and economic drivers of conflict and humanitarian crises. Analysis of these trends, enhanced with tools like Recorded Future, can help inform the actions of governmental leaders and policymakers.

Read the full breakdown of our analysis of the Humanitarian Crisis in Jordan in conjunction with Recorded Future

Coordinate Disaster Relief

Praescient’s analysts and engineers have leveraged a unique blend of subject matter expertise and technical skills to provide advanced analytical solutions in challenging and austere environments. Our specialized teams have deployed to disaster zones to provide full-lifecycle training and implementation support to public, private, and non-profit organizations. We have supported the logistical and organizational needs of relief efforts in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, the Moore tornado, and Typhoon Haiyan.

Check out this personal narrative about our disaster relief work from a Praescient analyst

Augment Law Enforcement Efforts

Law enforcement agencies collect massive amounts of data simply as a result of their normal functioning.  This information can be gathered by the officer on the street all the way up to the sophisticated operations of a multi-agency fusion center. But how can law enforcement use analytics to bring criminals to justice and keep us all safe? The same intelligence analysis methods used by the intel community and military organizations can be readily adapted to the missions of both local and federal law enforcement agencies. Drawing from these sources is increasingly important as the lines between criminality and terrorism have become blurred.

Read a post detailing several examples of this adaptation

Enable healthcare research

Data analysis is a highly effective methodology for medical research organizations looking to draw meaningful conclusions from the massive amounts of information collected from clinical trials. These organizations are taking advantage of data analytics methods to help teams answer specific questions and provide meaningful insights to drive discovery research, enrich planning, and enable decision making. Furthermore, the results of any one project can bridge capabilities and share insight across the larger life sciences community.

Find out more in our post exploring the latest work of laboratory services company, SynapDx

Improve organizational functioning

Effectively harnessing analytics can be an excellent way for businesses and other organizations to improve their operational functionality. RedOwl, one of Praescient’s premier technology partners, has developed a platform called Reveal that enables organizations to leverage their internal communications data. This software provides an innovative behavioral analytics framework that enables clients to identify, evaluate, and quantify patterns in communication trends within their organization. Praescient and RedOwl work together to allow clients to discover actionable insights about who in an organizational structure excels at communication, as well as uncovering inefficiencies.

Halt Money Laundering

Money laundering and the illegal movement of cash are often used to fund the operations of terrorist and criminal organizations. This money can travel the world or be filtered through intermediaries and shell corporations in order to hide its origin. Government agencies, working in collaboration with their international counterparts, can employ data analysis techniques to track this flow of cash and eventually discover patterns that lead to the discovery of threat actors. By using this intelligence, local and federal entities alike can disrupt the financial lifeblood of terrorist and criminal organizations.

Have a look at this blog post, published as a follow up to our second Knowlton Project session focused on countering threat finance

Strengthen supply chain logistics

Coordinating the movement of goods and materials over thousands of miles is a daunting task for any organization. By using data analytics tools and techniques, global firms can improve the efficiency of their supply chain. One of Praescient’s technology partners, TransVoyant, provides a tool that allows companies to turn their massive amounts of shipping data into actionable intelligence. Stemming from globalization, regional instability, complicated logistical coordination, and other factors, organizations have much less control over their supply chains compared to just a few decades ago. With TransVoyant’s Continuous Decision Intelligence™ (CDI) platform, organizations large and small can take advantage of advanced warning of risks through the monitoring of real-time events, allowing for quicker and more informed responses.

Discover more uses for TransVoyant’s innovate tool

Stop Human Trafficking

Human trafficking is a global crisis that condemns thousands of people to a life of servitude and squalor. By harnessing the power of data analytics, law enforcement agencies and victims services organizations can effectively fight back against this criminal scourge. Earlier this year, our analysts and engineers worked with The McCain Institute and the Arizona State University School of Social Work’s Office of Sex Trafficking Intervention Research to demonstrate a sophisticated workflow that sourced thousands of online sex ads to find patterns within trafficking events leading up to the 2014 Super Bowl. This increased awareness enables police investigations and the recovery of sex trafficking victims.

Read more about this work and watch a video demonstration below

Drive Retail Sales

The retail sector drives the U.S. and global economy, with total retail sales in the U.S. coming in at $4.53 trillion in 2013. Savvy retailers leverage the massive amounts of customer data obtained from an array of technologically-enabled tools to enhance decision making. Many companies have used the power of big data or predictive analytics to both increase their bottom line and deliver better products and services to their customers.

Read more here: Data Analytics for Retail

Enhance Sports Strategy

We’ve learned a lot about how data analytics can be applied to business and security fields, but the same techniques also translate to the wide world of organized sports. Team owners and fans alike can use analytics tools and methodologies to predict the star potential of future athletes already playing on the college level. In addition, tools like the SportsVU camera-tracking system can record every movement on the field of play and transmit that data into a repository, ready for analysis.

Check out how these tools and techniques can apply to basketball

There are of course many more ways to harness the power of data analytics. Check back with the Ideas Blog for additional stories on the craft of analysis!

Praescient Analytics is a Veteran-Owned Small Business that delivers training, data integration, platform customization, and embedded analytical services in partnership with leading technology providers. Praescient’s teams of analysts and engineers provide comprehensive solutions to federal and commercial clients engaged in critical defense, law enforcement, intelligence, cyber security, financial, investigative, and legal analytics missions.

Charlotte Stasio is Praescient’s Communications Specialist.