“What I wanted to do was create an efficient market where regular people could compete
with big business … it was a little bit of an experiment.” Pierre Omidyar, eBay founder
eBay Analytics: Innovation Inspired by Opportunity
Abstract The eBay of 2010 is preparing itself for increasing global competition. This case emphasizes alignment between business strategy, innovation, analytics and IT investments. An analytics focus on streamlining innovation through experimentation is supported through a unique data warehousing architecture that virtualizes on-demand, innovation sandboxes. Key personnel have been hired to support the strategy, and marketplace goals have been established to guide experimental designs. To support experimentation, eBays Teradata Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW) enables self- service virtual data marts that are cost effective, they can be realized faster than traditional data marts, and they support streamlined transfer of new discoveries into production. eBay refers to the approach as Analytics as a Service. In addition, a new area of analytics, called deep analytics, is supported by a dedicated Teradata appliance. Deep analytics at eBay focus on scrutinizing huge web log data volumes for doing special types of analysis. For eBay leaders like Vice President of Analytics Bob Page, the new thrust will require nurturing an organizational culture of experimentation. Pages team faces challenges like determining appropriate incentives to encourage experimentation leading to innovation, establis
