There's no doubt that evaluating the bottom line of any endeavor is critical to all businesses. From small and midsized businesses (SMBs) to large corporations, the focus on return-on-investment (ROI) drives most business decisions. With that in mind, it's understandable that before companies begin a data analytics project, management would question the ROI a project's results might bring. If stakeholders believe there could be value in conducting analytics, they'll launch a project; if they can't imagine or understand the ROI, analytics project gets scrapped. But this laser focus on ROI overlooks another critical factor, COI: the Cost of Ignoring.When a business willfully decides to look past, or ignore, the types of data-driven insights that analytics intelligence can bring to their business it faces an enormous opportunity cost, also known as cost-of-ignoring (COI). That business will never know what insights they might be missing, and they will never gain any return from that untapped knowledge. Choosing not to capitalize on the benefits of data analytics places a business at a dangerous competitive disadvantage. Why Do Businesses Choose to Ignore Analytics? Every organization, regardless of size, is privy to data that is ripe for analysis. This information can include internal data, such as call center logs, sales statistics, and customer surveys, or external data, like consumer generated content on social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter. It's even possible to sift through your competitors' external data for valuable insights. Many businesses choose to ignore this data and not to conduct analysis for a variety of reasons. A large telecommunications company might be overwhelmed by how to handle hundreds of millions of call records, while small and midsize business owners might not have the internal resources to handle analysis, or they might be concerned with the cost of an analytics project. These businesses don't realize just how meaningful analysis can be, nor do they understand the value (ROI) gained from a project's insights and the opportunity cost (COI) associated with ignoring analytics. What is the Cost of Ignoring Analytics? The insights that businesses gather from analytics can be a veritable goldmine. It's possible to determine the likelihood of a customer buying their products or to discover product flaws and issues with customer service that are hurting customer retention. Ignoring social media analytics can also cost businesses the opportunity to manage their online reputations and build customer loyalty. Opting for Analytics Many businesses are moving forward with analytics projects -- including any given company's competitors. If a business wants to hold onto their competitive advantage they need to embrace analytics. It's safe to say that analytics is no longer something "nice" to do; it's something necessary to do. Often, stakeholders can't fully wrap their head around what's possible with analytics until they launch a project. Similarly, consider our current dependence on cell phones. We use our phones to check email, get directions, search the internet, and text-message our loved ones. We're practically tethered to our phones. But 20 years ago, mobile phones were far less prevalent and lacked these technologies. At the time, we couldn't wrap our heads around how invaluable these phones would become, or the power they would wield. The same is true with analytics. For example, a large manufacturer of personal care products had access to volumes of data but weren't using it. They simply didn't understand the ROI they could get from analytics because it was an unknown, unseen entity. However, once an analytics vendor showed the manufacturer the value of their data and the kinds of data-driven decisions they could make from their analytics insights. They now have an enormous competitive advantage in the personal care industry. Today, they can't imagine existing without analytics playing a key role in how they run their business. Eliminate COI with Solution as a Service Conducting analytics places a business in a leadership category. Businesses that are hesitant to spend a lot of their resources on analytics, or lack internal analysts, but would like to experiment with analytics can do so with Solution as a Service (SolaaS). SolaaS is an innovative approach to analytics that combines a powerful analytics engine with the industry's top data analysts -- through a single vendor. A SolaaS vendor, like PolyVista, offers clients flexible, month-to-month contracts and will also one-time projects, allowing smaller businesses to experiment with analytics and see first-hand the positive ROI before committing to larger projects. SolaaS makes it possible for businesses of all sizes to be proactive, conduct successful analytics projects, and above all, never fall victim to COI. Summary For businesses to maintain a competitive advantage, analytics has become a necessity. By failing to engage in analytics, these companies experience COI, the Cost of Ignoring. There is opportunity cost associated with not conducting analytics and it can negatively affect a business's bottom line. Through Solution as a Service (SolaaS), it's possible to discover the benefits and ROI of analytics without engaging in an enormous, pricey project. A SolaaS vendor will conduct one-time projects and offer month-to-month contracts, allowing companies to experience how analytics can shape the future of their business.