Kevin Plank, CEO of Under Armour Inc., spoke in early March during a SXSW Interactive presentation about how businesses benefit from digital endeavors. Under Armour hopes to bring some of its manufacturing jobs back to the United States with the Lighthouse Initiative – centered around a space in South Baltimore for the company to produce footwear and apparel locally. Since 1996, when Under Armour was founded, the company has expanded with the acquisition of three technology companies – which are now combined into a Connected Fitness Division. While discussing this, Plank touched on the importance of data. “Data is the new oil,” Plank said. “The companies that do well are the companies that use math.” Utilizing concrete data is not a novel concept. For decades, many businesses have been using math and collected data to modify working strategy and understand marketplace trends. Companies use social-media software to understand consumer behavior. Technology referred to as “sentiment analysis” uses math algorithms, or “natural language processing,” to filter through millions of messages and identify the most important. Starbucks and the American Cancer Society are among the large number of businesses using sentiment analysis to satisfy consumer needs. Mathematical models and algorithms offer the most efficient, proven method for digesting thousands of data points. The demand for mathematicians, related to companies performing data analysis, continues to grow. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics and the Bureau of Labor Statistics ranked mathematicians as #8 – in a list of 50 college majors that offer the largest ROI. Businesses that can determine strategy and make tactical decisions based on data are stronger than businesses that rely on gut feeling and intuition. No matter the method of collection, mathematics are absolutely vital to comprehend and digest dynamic data.

1. obile Data Collection App For Retail Execution.
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DATA IS TO BUSINESS,
WHAT OIL IS TO CARS
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2. Data production and usage
is becoming increasingly
vital to business.
In response, many non-tech
companies have developed
advanced technology
departments.
One of these companies is
Under Armour, the clothing
and sporting goods
manufacturer.

3. “Data is the new oil.
The companies that do
well are the companies
that use math.”
Kevin Plank, CEO of Under Armour, spoke at SXSW 2016
about how businesses benefit from digital endeavors.
Kevin Plank,
CEO of Under Armour, Inc.

4. During its expansion, Under Armour acquired 3 tech
companies and combined them into a Connected
Fitness Division. Data played a pivotal role in the
company’s growth.

5. SENTIMENT
ANALYSIS
Understand public opinion
through social media
analysis.
Natural language processing
can filter through millions of
posts to find those
meaningful to your business.
0101010000100101010000
1001010100001001010100
0010010101000010010101
0000100101010000100101
0100001001010100001001
0101000010010101

6. USED BY STARBUCKS,
THE AMERICAN CANCER
SOCIETY, AND MORE.

7. the value of
mathematicians
MATHEMATICS IN BUSINESS
Algorithms can efficiently digest thousands of data points per
second. The demand for mathematicians is growing in the
modern data-rich world of business.

8. BUSINESSES
THAT BUILD
STRATEGY BASED
ON DATA ARE AT
AN ADVANTAGE.
Mathematics, therefore, are
more important to business
today than ever before.
How have you used data in your
business? Tell us in the
comments!

9. A Mobile Data Collection App For Retail Execution.
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