Fractional Analytic Support & Training
Why Data-Driven Excellence Is Well Within Your Reach
Is it possible to get real data & analytic support on a monthly subscription basis? Can analytics be delivered as a fractional service? What would an analytics on demand model look like? What benefits does a subscription model provide compared to more classic data support models? This article will explore some of the possibilities.
Fractional Services — XaaS, On Demand, and the Sharing Economy
When I began my start-up last year, I was quickly innundated with the concept of “productizing”. It is not so much a word as a doctrine. It seems no one was interested in a service-model…
That is an interesting statement given that Everything As A Service has its own acronym (XaaS). So service models seem to be interesting, if you can put them “in the cloud”, call them “on-demand”, or declare them part of the “sharing economy”. But of course that excludes things like analytics…
Only, why would it? One of my early clients was Doctors On Demand. They offer an app based service — but the doctors aren’t “in the cloud”. I suppose they are “shared”, though the more accepted term for high level occupations seems to be “fractional”. In fact, many of my clients utilize “fractional” CFOs.
I guess that service-model isn’t so dead after all…
The Fractional C-Suite
In the start-up universe, where “shared” work spaces are all the rage many executive functions are “fractional”. CFOs, CIOs, and plenty more. Another popular term is “Loaned”, but that feels a lot more temporary. C-level guidance isn’t typically a temporary thing, so lets focus on “fractional” support.
Why not analytics?
The Case For Analytics
Many people initially struggle with the idea of analytics as a fractional subscription service. The discipline has built a mystique. As a practitioner, that mystique is flattering — but it may not serve.
Pulling back the veil a bit, analytics may be better positioned than many disciplines for fractional support. At its core, analytics is learning. Learning has been a fractional pursuit for centuries.
Yes, it is learning with a hard core helping of science, statistics, and computer programming. But none of those skills prohibit it from operating on a fractional basis. If anything, the rigor and discipline argue instead that companies embrace this discipline earlier in their development. What is more conducive to that than subscription-level pricing?
The Needs Of Early Adopters
If we are going to argue that analytics is well-positioned for fractional support and that companies are better served by early adoption, we need to layer in one more caveat.
Early stage companies will not be served by slow, plodding, and overly-academic analytic support.
This is not a call for loose analytic voodoo. There is no such thing. It may have a mystique but it is not magic. It is science. It is discipline. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be fast. There is a reason I chose the title I did.
Young, growing companies need analytic support to make better decisions. They need agile support to make faster decisions. They need to triage and prioritize to make the right decisions. They need to make smart trade-offs and they need to know where patience will pay-off.
Learn fast. But learn well. Analytics is the ONLY solution that assures that.
So what sort of services does Fractional Analytic Support & Training provide?
Why the most critical, timely, and important — of course. But seriously, some simple examples might include:
- Sales deck slide development
- Measurement plans
- Business modeling
- Hiring & interview support
- Software evaluation
- Data planning & monetization support
- Third party auditing
- KPI development
- Instrumentation strategy
- MIS design
- Waterfall development
- Forecasting
Just to name the first dozen ideas that came to mind.
For early stage companies, I have provided support on sales calls, led consensus building workshops, provided training, developed job listings, and created the “money” slides for pitch decks. As companies mature, I have provided capacity planning, data architecture, mentoring and performance reviews for young analysts. My company provides a large list of sample services that numbers over 100.
Each offering can be turned around within days — hours in a pinch (and for an up charge). We are a helpful team to have on-call in a bind. But we are an even better support group to help your company invest in its future. First and foremost, we are about learning. But learning always ends with training — remember that title again.
Fractional Analytic Support & Training is an executive function. It is a C-level service designed to be an investment in your company, in your people. It is a learned discipline delivered at the right price so it can be adopted early. It is also flexible enough to be really helpful when capacity is at a premium or the questions have gotten most critical. It is a service to grow with and well within your reach.
To get started check us out on LinkedIN:
Or come to our website:
