Whether you run a small business with just a few employees or you a large multinational enterprise you can benefit from big data. The constant stream of data flowing to and from us through everyday devices and products generates more market data than ever before. The amount of data we’re producing is growing at an incredibly rapid rate. In less than five years from today (2015), experts predict that our annual data creation will be in excess of 45 trillion gigabytes. With the amount of data available to individuals, corporations, and governments, there is no question that your business needs a Big Data Strategy.
When we say Big Data Strategy what is required is a focused, data-driven strategy that will not just collect information but to use that information in the most effective ways possible to help your business overcome existing business challenges but also help improve your bottom line.
To define your Big Data strategy you should first have answers to these questions.
1) What is the biggest challenge for my enterprise/business today?
2) How can I know my customer better?
3) If I have better understanding of my data will it help to address business challenges?
4) How can I use analytics to get insights about my customers and their buying and spending patterns?
Once you have answered these questions you know what is the expected outcome of your BD Strategy and then you shall be able to define the strategy for Big Data for your business (you might take help from an expert). Big Data is not just for big businesses with huge amount of data and it can help small business to strategize and increase their customer base and retain customers.
Take this example of a family owned small company that helped tourist find cheap and comfortable accommodation with homeowners. Company helps around 700+ homeowners to generate additional income by renting their spare rooms. The small company used an analytics tool to tap into data ranging from spreadsheets to databases and make the analysis available to home owners and contractors. The predictive analysis helped company save a large amount of money by better planning and demand/supply management. The company had expected the Big Data spending to provide returns in 3 years but they realized returns in 2 years. There are many more examples and I will share few of them in coming days.