When we talk about analytics and AI-driven organisations, we often think of the likes of Google, Amazon, Facebook, Netflix and Tencent, which have all risen to dominance during the internet era.

But what about companies that have been around for much longer, can they achieve the same results with their data?

To answer this question, I recently spoke to Tom Davenport who is one of the world’s foremost thought leaders and authors in the areas of business, analytics, data science and AI.

He is the President’s Distinguished Professor of Information Technology and Management at Babson College, a Fellow of the MIT Center for Digital Business, and an independent senior advisor to Deloitte Analytics.

He has authored more than 20 books and hundreds of articles on topics such as artificial intelligence, analytics, information and knowledge management, process management, and enterprise systems.

He is a regular contributor to Harvard Business Review, Forbes Magazine, The Wall Street Journal and many other publications around the world.

In this episode, Tom gives us a history lesson of data and analytics and provides an in-depth description of what it takes for traditional companies to ascend through what he calls the “Four Eras of Analytics”.