Explaining Big Data in Small Terms
As if being a business owner wasn’t already time consuming enough, you now have to learn about new terms and innovations in addition to educating yourself on the basics of being a business owner. One of the terms that you might have heard floating around the business ether is big data. Before you start groaning and holding your head in your hands in frustration, start rejoicing at the fact that big data can actually make your business better and more efficient. The only catch is that you have to know what it is in order to use it properly.
Big Data Basics
Fundamentally, big data is the collection of business initiatives and technologies that deal with a varied mix of data that is often too large, mercurial and diverse for a majority of the business skills, infrastructures and technologies that companies normally use to comprehend and utilize data in an efficient manner.
Thankfully, technology has changed and made it possible for businesses to take advantage of the value that big data brings. Utility companies now have a way to gauge how much energy local households use and can make accurate predictions on power outages in addition to making energy use more efficient. Retail companies can keep a closer eye on web clicks and use that information as a way to identify specific consumer trends in order to make effective adjustments to their advertising and marketing campaigns, pricing and how much of a certain product they should stock. Now are you starting to understand just what big data can do for you and your company?
Practical Use
In order to get the most out of big data you need to learn the different ways that it can be used so that you can apply it to your specific industry and business model. Imagine being able to know exactly what you need to do to improve your customer experience and service without having to go through a period of trial and error or waste money.
Now imagine being able to save money by adding open sourced big data technologies as a replacement for any legacy systems that might be sucking up your business bank account. Big data has also been known to allow banks to be more compliant and in-line with regulatory requirements. Another use for big data is staying on top of sudden and major changes in your industry, giving you an advantage over your competitors and allowing you to better serve your customers.
There are services that companies use, such as Hadoop services from Treasure Data, which analyze insights from the big data. With the help of big data you can take your business to the next level faster than you ever thought possible. Rather than working harder, work smarter.