<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none" src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=349935452247528&amp;ev=PageView&amp;noscript=1">
Search
word-map-thumb

The Alternative Board Blog

Reading UP: Big Data Findings from Mayer-Schonberger & Cukier

Apr. 22, 2013 | Posted by The Alternative Board

Big Data: A Revolution That Will Transform How We Live, Work and Think by Mayer-Schonberger & Cukier has generated a lot of buzz. Is this something you should care about, or even be worried about? Let’s start with some background.

Here are some of the more interesting Big Data findings presented in this book:

Google can now do a better job of predicting a flu epidemic than the CDC.

- A traffic analyzer program was able to predict a sharp spike in unemployment prior to the government reporting it based on lower volumes of traffic.

- Happiness is correlated with income up to a certain point, and then additional income does not create additional happiness.

Apple received a patent in 2009 for their earbuds specifically for collecting data on heart rate & body temperature.

Perhaps these are interesting, but how can this help your business? Consider these:

UPS was able to reduce its vehicle maintenance cost by millions by being able to delay certain preventative maintenance based on analyzing extensive amounts of vehicle failure data.

Target knows when its female customers are pregnant; and they are pretty good at pinpointing the due date. They generate business by targeting the right coupons throughout the phases of the pregnancy.

Walmart knows that before hurricanes strike, customers purchase lots of flashlights -  and pop tarts. So they stock lots of pop tarts before a big storm.
Big Data Imagined
 
Big Data has been made possible based on the plethora of data available through the information age & also the cheap availability of processing power & storage to analyze and store all that information. Here are some key things to know about Big Data vs. Small Data (the data/analysis available in the past):

- Big Data is based on analyzing (virtually) all the data. Small Data was based on sampling much smaller data sets.

Want additional insight? Download Hiring a Business Coach for Your Small Business now 

DOWNLOAD

- Big Data is concerned with answering the what (correlation) but not the why (causality). This is a very significant point. The authors argue that knowing the what is for the most part all that you really need to know. Sometimes knowing the why is critically important - therefore Big Data is not always the right approach.

- Small Data involves having a theory before you started to analyze the data. Big Data lets "the data speak". This is among the most important points. Algorithms will run on the data and reveal answers to questions that you didn't think to ask. As Duncan Watts wrote, everything is obvious once you know the answer.

So should you care about this? Absolutely! Consider Google vs. Microsoft. Microsoft has the best spell checker in the world, right? In fact, Google does. With the most popular word processor on the planet for many years, you would expect that Microsoft was able to develop the best spell check algorithms. But they did not base it on Big Data. Google did. They collected every misspelled word that users entered. They applied Big Data processing on this data. Now, Google has the best spell checker on the planet.

What can you do? Think about what data you have - good and bad. Assemble your key staff and brainstorm on business innovations that you might be able to make based on your data. You might be able to dramatically improve your service levels. You might find an opportunity to launch a new product or service that will solve a recurring need for your clients. Or, you may be sitting on a gold mine of data and can use it to enter a new industry altogether. It's not easy. The analysis requires specialized expertise. But, this revolution is here to stay. You should start to think of your data as a strategic part of your business.

Related articles

Read our 19 Reasons You Need a Business Owner Advisory Board

DOWNLOAD

Written by The Alternative Board

Related posts

Watch Out for Blind Spots in Sales
Jun. 7, 2023 | Posted by Lee Polevoi
  Let’s assume your company employs one or more salespeople who are responsible for generating leads and closing deals. As talented as these sales professionals might be, some “blind spots” in sales...
What Technology Strategy is Most Effective for Your Remote Team?
May. 31, 2023 | Posted by Lee Polevoi
  If, like many businesses these days, you employ a cadre of remote workers, it’s imperative to do all you can to support their offsite efforts. That means providing the best technology available so...
How to Improve Website Traffic Conversion
Aug. 24, 2022 | Posted by Boris Kimelman
Advertising prices are steadily rising and the measurability of advertising tools is eroding. Brands are currently operating in a state of blindness, so it is important for business owners to...
Quick and Easy Way to Maintain an Active LinkedIn Presence
May. 27, 2022 | Posted by The Alternative Board
LinkedIn is a mainstay social media platform for business owners and professionals. No news flash there. But while most of us understand that having an engaging LinkedIn presence can bring tremendous...
Tips For Improving Your Networking Skills This Spring
Apr. 19, 2022 | Posted by Phil Spensieri
Love it or hate it, networking is essential for business growth and success. It’s often the bane of existence for many business owners that I work with. But if done right, you can take the hassle of...
How Social Media Can Drive Product Innovation
Apr. 15, 2022 | Posted by The Alternative Board TAB
The process of product innovation has, for some time, relied upon a cadre of forward-thinkers within an organization, and/or soliciting input from customer surveys and focus groups. These methods...
When a Business Owner Wears a Selling Hat
Mar. 4, 2022 | Posted by The Alternative Board
If you are like most business owners of small or mid-sized businesses, there are times you must put on your Selling Hat. When you put on that Selling Hat, your mindset needs to change to one of “What...
5 Ways To Manage A Remote Sales Team
Nov. 5, 2021 | Posted by The Alternative Board
Sales leaders have struggled with managing remote sales teams even before the pandemic. Today, with an increasing number of organizations moving partially or fully remote, the need to put practices...
Phone Sales Mistakes Your Team Might Be Making
Oct. 28, 2021 | Posted by The Alternative Board
Cold calls and other approaches to phone sales might not be considered as vital as they once were, but many businesses still rely on this method for customer acquisition. That’s all well and good, as...
How to Lead More Productive Sales Meetings
Oct. 26, 2021 | Posted by The Alternative Board
Sales meetings, like business meetings in general, come fraught with potential minefields. They’re often perceived by team members as a waste of time, too predictable and boring, not long enough or...