Black Swans and Big Data

In TeraData Mag:  Good piece that looks at the inevitability of these events, and how Data can still help. Leads to the suggestion that predictive analytics will allow us to be prepared for classes of Black Swans.  Segmenting appropriate responses.  And then, obviously addressing them with the same patterns:   

" ....  A data-driven analysis or simulation designed to determine an organization’s ability to deal with a crisis situation can help it be ready for the day a black swan lands on its front steps. Krishna notes that this type of “stress testing” can gauge the level of readiness. “[Preparation] is really all about imagining the unimaginable, understanding what’s going to blow up ... [and] to be able to determine what corrective actions are needed,” he explains. “That is becoming very much an accepted approach ... certainly something that, from a regulatory standpoint, is becoming mandatory for a number of financial institutions.”

Businesses that identify a possible event early on and take evasive actions are usually in the best position to ride out the crisis. Krishna advises companies to carefully map out the exact steps they will need to take in various types of crisis situations. “Then document those actions so that if any of the expected scenarios occur, there will be no second-guessing,” he points out. “It’s simply a matter of executing what’s already been documented; executing that game plan, if you will.” ... '